Russia gained ground in China in first seven months this year Saudis may seek more spot sales to compete: Petromatrix Saudi Arabia kept its spot as China’s biggest oil supplier for the first seven months this year after pumping record output in July, even as Russia threatens to overtake the kingdom in their contest for sales to the world’s largest energy consumer. The biggest crude exporter shipped an average of 1.05 million barrels a day to China in the year through July 31, giving it a market share of 14 percent, according to Bloomberg calculations based on data that China’s General Administration of Customs published Wednesday. Russia’s share was 13.6 percent, the data show. Russia has gained ground in China this year, exceeding imports from Saudi Arabia in three months. “There’s a market-share battle going on mainly among the Middle East producers and Russia,” Olivier Jakob, managing director of […]