Completed Development AidData Chinese Aid

Chinese Government donates 500,000 tons of crude oil in 2011 (Linked to Record ID#41496)

$347.74M USD

Funder	China Ministry of Commerce
Recipient Organization	Government of North Korea
Country	Democratic People's Republic of Korea
Start Date	Jan 01, 2011
End Date	Mar 26, 2026
Duration	5,563 days
Number of Grantees	1
Roles	Recipient
Data Source	AidData Chinese Aid
Grant ID	`63332`

Grant Description

On December 20, 2011, Hu Jintao announced that the Chinese Government would donate 250,000 tons of crude oil and 500,000 tons of food (captured via Record ID#41496) to North Korea in a meeting with senior officials. This donation was decided upon right after the announcement of Kim Jong Il's death on December 19, 2011.

The aid package was offered as a gesture of support for the new regime of Kim Jong Un. 500,000 tons of oil is equivalent to 3,665,000 barrels of oil.

Therefore, to estimate the monetary value of this donation ($347,735,200), AidData has taken the average price ($94.88) of a barrel of West Texas Intermediate (NYMEX) crude oil in 2011 and multiplied it by 3,665,000 barrels of oil.

In 2012, a North Korean source disclosed that every year the ‘the Ministry of Commerce of China and the North Korean government will discuss the catalogue of aid products, quantity, period, etc., but it is basically 100,000 tons of grain, 500,000 tons of oil, and materials needed by North Korea worth 20 million US dollars.’ The same source disclosed that the Chinese Government ultimately donated 500,000 tons of crude oil to the North Korean Government in 2011.

This annual oil donation arrangement between the Chinese Government and the North Korean Government dates back to the 1970s.

On October 17, 1970, the Chinese Government and the Government of North Korea signed an Agreement on Mutual Supply of Critical Materials 1971-1976.

Under the terms of this agreement, the Chinese Government agreed to provide the North Korean Government with 500,000 tons of crude oil per year.

📋 Staff Comments

This crude oil donation project was supported via recurring grants from China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) between 2000 and 2017.
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.

📚 Sources & References

North Korea Tests the Patience of Its Closest Ally
The Peninsula Question: A Chronicle of the Second Korean Nuclear Crisis
North Korean military may siphon off fuel oil aid
China Update: from Words to Deeds
China urges international help for N. Korea
金総書記の死去直後　中国、緊急支援を決定
担心有变？胡锦涛紧急援助朝鲜大量粮油
WTI Crude Oil Prices - 10 Year Daily Chart
揭秘：四十年前，朝鲜经济比肩日本超越中国
中国每年无偿给朝鲜提供10万吨粮食和50万吨石油
韩联社：中国首次连续3个月断供朝鲜石油
有迹象显示中国可能会改变对朝政策
揭秘中朝友谊输油管道：决定朝鲜金正恩政权的真正命门
Reordering Chinese Priorities on the Korean Peninsula
China’s Aid to North Korea — Centered on the China-North Korea Oil Pipeline, 3 Reasons China Can’t Stop Exporting Oil to North Korea
Why is China's pipeline excluded from UN sanctions? Loan applications and disbursements are still being received and processed as the projects continue to evolve. Ongoing monitoring and evaluation are in place to ensure project continuity.