China bought a record volume of crude from Russia last year while shipments from Saudi Arabia shrank for a second year as the Asian nation took steps to diversify its sources of oil supply. China’s imports from its northern neighbor increased by 36 percent in 2014, the fastest pace ever, to 33.1 million metric tons, according to General Administration of Customs data e-mailed on Jan. 23. That’s about 665,000 barrels a day. Exports from Saudi Arabia, which remains the biggest supplier, totaled 49.67 million tons in 2014 or 997,000 barrels a day, the least since 2010. The kingdom’s share of China’s crude purchases dropped to 16 percent from 19 percent in 2013. China, the world’s second-largest oil consumer, is benefiting from a wider choice of suppliers amid a global glut fueled by the highest U.S. production in more than three decades. The country’s 2013 agreement with OAO Rosneft could […]