Cargoes of Russia’s ESPO crude loading in May have been offered to China for payments in yuan, as the world’s top crude importer continues to purchase Russian oil but is constrained in bank guarantees by the Western sanctions on the Russian banking system, traders familiar with the matter told Bloomberg on Friday. Unlike many oil customers in the West, China and another major oil importer, India, have not been shying away from Russian oil cargoes, all the more so that Moscow’s crude is now being sold at hefty discounts to Dated Brent. According to Bloomberg’s trading sources, the Geneva-based seller of oil, Paramount Energy & Commodities SA, has recently allowed some customers in China to pay in yuan. Several independent refiners in China have bought the ESPO cargoes for May loading at Russia’s Far East ports, but it was not immediately clear whether the payments have gone through or […]