Kuwait Sells Substantial Crude Volumes to Asia
Kuwait Petroleum Corporation is offering at least 4 million barrels of crude on two supertankers to buyers in China and South Korea. The cargoes mark the first such sales since the Iran war began on February 28.
rediff.comKuwait is offering its crude to Asian buyers for the first time since the Iran war began on February 28. At least 4 million barrels loaded on two supertankers are being offered directly by Kuwait Petroleum Corporation to refiners in China and South Korea. The two very large crude carriers have cleared the Strait of Hormuz and can reach Asian ports promptly, according to traders.
The sales signal that some Persian Gulf crude is reaching buyers despite reduced tanker traffic through the chokepoint. Kuwait lacks a pipeline that bypasses the Strait of Hormuz, unlike Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The national oil company has faced months of curtailed exports since the war started.
Kuwait will likely need up to 12 weeks after the strait reopens to restore production levels curtailed since February 28, a company official said last week. Iraq maintains a pipeline through Kurdistan to the Turkish port of Ceyhan and plans to triple its capacity to about 770,000 barrels per day within three months.
Saudi Arabia has increased flows on its East-West pipeline to the Red Sea port of Yanbu.
The United Arab Emirates began construction on a new pipeline to Fujairah that will bypass the strait and become operational next year.
