Russia is set to strengthen its position as the biggest oil supplier to China in the coming decade with a planned second pipeline link to Chinese refineries, according to a unit of Fitch Group Inc. A construction contract was signed between two units of state-run China National Petroleum Corp. for a domestic pipeline carrying Russian crude, the country’s official Xinhua News Agency reported June 26. The 955 kilometer (594 mile) facility from Mohe to Daqing in northeast China will have an annual capacity of 15 million metric tons, it said. Russia in May surpassed Saudi Arabia as China’s leading crude supplier for the first time in almost a decade as a global fight for market share intensified. The Asian nation’s increasing reliance on oil from its northern neighbor also benefits a Russian economy weakened by American and European sanctions over Ukraine and a collapse in the ruble. “The promise […]