Production cuts by Saudi Arabia and other OPEC producers have had a profound effect on Asian refiners’ crude oil procurement by opening the door to more U.S., Canadian and North Sea crude deliveries to the Far East and South Asia. Of the four major Asian refining countries, China has seen the largest drop in imports of East of Suez crude, which includes oil produced in the Middle East, the Asia-Pacific region, Australasia and far-east Russia, but India, Japan and South Korea have experienced declines as well. What’s going on? And what does it mean for Atlantic Basin crude producers? Today, we discuss recent changes in global crude price differentials and Asian crude import slates, which include more imports from the U.S.
