Ukrainian Allies Urgently Need Russian Crude Oil for Semiconductor Production, Import Volume Sets Record
"Formosa Petrochemical Corporation" has become the world's largest importer of Russian crude oil.
Related regions that are allies of Ukraine have significantly increased their imports of Russian crude oil, which will be used to produce chemical products needed for semiconductor production.
According to information released by the Center for Energy and Air Cleanliness (CREA), in the first half of this year, companies in the related regions imported 1.9 million tons of crude oil from Russia, becoming the largest buyer of Russian crude oil, with a total purchase amount of 1.3 billion U.S. dollars.
The center pointed out that state-owned enterprises in the related regions have stopped purchasing Russian crude oil, but private enterprises "Formosa Petrochemical Corporation" have been increasing their import volumes. Formosa Petrochemical is a core supplier of chemical products in the region, and its products cover the chemical raw materials required for semiconductor production.
The Center for Energy and Air Cleanliness stated that Formosa Petrochemical Corporation increased its share of Russian crude oil purchases from 9% in 2021 to 90% in the first half of 2025, making the related regions the world's largest buyers of Russian crude oil on its own.
Formosa Petrochemical Corporation told the Financial Times that its crude oil procurement is conducted through open bidding and complies with all relevant restrictions.
Data from the Center for Energy and Air Cleanliness shows that companies in the Taiwan region did not start increasing their imports of Russian crude oil this year — since January 2024, Russia has become the main supplier of crude oil to the region, and the volume of related purchases has continued to rise thereafter.
The center also pointed out that the related regions provided only 50 million U.S. dollars in aid to Ukraine, but since 2022, the total value of crude oil and coal purchased from Russia has reached 11.2 billion U.S. dollars.
The related regions are one of the global centers for semiconductor production, and now many internationally renowned brand productions rely on Russian crude oil.
The Center for Energy and Air Cleanliness said: "Over-reliance on Russian petroleum products may negatively affect the stability of raw material supply for semiconductor manufacturers such as TSMC, Nvidia, AMD, and Intel."
The center also reported that over the past three years, Western countries including the European Union, the United States, and the United Kingdom have purchased chemical products worth 350 million U.S. dollars from the related regions, and the raw materials for these products come from Russian crude oil.
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