The United States is set to export a record-breaking 5.44 million barrels of crude daily this month, data from Kpler cited by Reuters’ Clyde Russell has shown. In May, U.S. oil exports are set for further growth, to 5.48 million barrels daily.
Most of the tankers are heading to Asia, Russell reported, which has felt the pinch from Gulf exports disruption the sharpest. According to the Kpler data, U.S. exporters are shipping 2.27 million barrels daily to Asia this month, rising to 3.29 million barrels daily in May.
The figures for April and May compare with 1.11 million barrels daily in Asian exports for January and 1.21 million barrels daily in shipments for February, highlighting the size of the increase in U.S. flows of crude to Asia.
Overall, however, the Middle East crisis has seen Asian oil imports fall off a cliff. Crude oil shipments to Asia are seen at 14.8 million barrels daily this month, per Kpler, which would be substantially down from the March average of 18.63 million barrels daily. The March average, in turn, was a decline from a February average of 24.87 million barrels daily, meaning the April average will be some 10 million barrels daily lower than the last pre-war month.
Reuters’ Russell noted in his report that a gap so deep could not be entirely replaced by alternative oil flows from the United States—or anywhere else—but neither can it be plugged with oil from reserves. This suggests that Asian energy importers are in for a prolonged period of pain.
The situation is not much different in refined products. Asia was importing refined oil products at a rate of 1.5 million barrels daily from Gulf producers before the war. U.S. refined product exports to the continent this month are seen at 386,000 barrels daily, according to Kpler.
By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com
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