After the war between the United States and Iran, the Persian Gulf coast, which accounted for about a quarter of the world's crude oil trade, has been blocked, and the United States and Venezuela are gaining wealth. This is because Asian countries that used to import most crude oil from the Middle East have begun to flock to the Americas.
The U.S. CNBC reported on the 3rd (local time) that U.S. crude oil exports surged to 5.2 million barrels per day last month, citing shipping data analysis company Kpler. This is a 33% increase compared to 3.9 million barrels per day of exports in February, just before the war began, and the highest ever.
Major U.S. crude oil export terminals are also booming. Texas-based Corpus Christi, where about half of U.S. crude oil exports pass, recorded its highest-ever performance in the first quarter of this year. "The volume of crude oil in March increased from an average of 200 ships until last year to more than 240," Corpus Christi CEO Kent Britton told CNBC. "The volume of refined oil exports to the Middle East exceeded that of last year in the first quarter."
Most of the new customers are oil tankers from Asia. "About 50 to 60 VLCCs are heading to the U.S. every day, many of them from Asian countries that were importing crude oil from the Middle East before the war," said Matt Smith, head of raw material research. "The Asian market is buying whatever it can get its hands on," he said. "We are buying hard low-sulfur crude oil in the U.S.."
Venezuela has also significantly increased its crude oil export volume for the first time in a while. According to Venezuela's state-run oil company PDVSA, crude oil exports in April amounted to 1.23 million barrels per day on average, a whopping 75 percent increase from February just before the war. The figure is the highest in seven years since late 2018, just before the U.S. started imposing sanctions on Venezuela. The main reason is that the U.S. administration signed a supply contract with the Venezuelan government after its arrest of former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in January. The largest exporter is the U.S., followed by India and Europe.
However, the concentration of Asian demand to the Americas is likely a temporary phenomenon. "The light oil produced by the U.S. cannot completely replace the Middle East's heavy oil," Kepler's Smith told CNBC. "In terms of scale, the processing capacity of the U.S., South America and West African countries cannot match that of the Middle East." "The only solution is to secure stable supply from the Middle East," he stressed.
Reporter Kwak Joo-hyun ([email protected] )
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