Oil geopolitics shifts as China taps Saudi crude

* username: rupertbu

Saudi Arabia's oil exports to the US last year sank below 1m barrels a day for the first time in two decades just as China's purchases climbed above that level, highlighting a shift in the geopolitics of oil from west to east.

The drop in US demand for oil from the kingdom, traditionally one of its primary sources, is the result of lower energy consumption overall but also greater reliance on imports from Canada and Africa.

China's buoyant economic growth, meanwhile, is prompting Beijing to buy more Saudi oil, a trend Riyadh has encouraged through refinery joint ventures.