Chinese Government donates 472,167 tons of crude oil to North Korea in 2003

Project narrative

In 2003, the Chinese Government donated approximately 472,167 tons of crude oil to the North Korean Government. 472,167 tons of oil is equivalent to 3,460,984.11 barrels of oil. Therefore, to estimate the monetary value of this donation ($107,567,386.13), AidData has taken the average price ($31.08) of a barrel of West Texas Intermediate (NYMEX) crude oil in 2003 and multiplied it by 3,460,984.11 barrels of oil. Since 1991, China has been North Korea's largest crude oil provider, making up 80% of its supply. Crude oil is provided to North Korea through a pipeline (known as the Dandong-Sinuiju Pipeline or Friendship Oil Pipeline) from the Daqing Oil Field, 800 kilometers north of the China-North Korea border. The pipeline, which was completed in December 1975, runs for more than 30 km from storage facilities in the Chinese border city of Dandong to an oil depot in Sinuiju in North Korea. It supplies approximately 520,000 tons (3.64 million barrels) of heavy crude oil each year, according to its operator, China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC). Once across the border, the crude oil is processed at North Korea's sole working refinery, the Ponghwa Chemical Factory, a facility built with Chinese assistance during the 1970s. The refinery turns the oil into refined products for North Korea's government, military, transport, agricultural and fishing sectors.