Some Asian importers of Russian crude turned to supplies from the Middle East and the US – Xclusiv Shipbrokers
South Korea, Japan and Thailand are steadily reducing their dependence on Russian oil
Apart from the large volumes of Russian crude cargoes that keep finding their way towards China and India, other major Asian crude importers who are committed to sanctions halting trade with Russia, are turning towards other oil producers, according to the Xclusiv Shipbrokers’ report.
Despite the steep discounts on Russian crude, South Korea, Japan and Thailand are steadily reducing their dependence on Russian oil, replacing it with other sources, emphasize analytics basing on the statistics of the recent months.
Japan has decreased the supply of Russian oil by 85 % on a yearly basis, from 141,324 b/d down to 20,993 b/d. Thailand did not purchase any Russian crude in May, and data showed that the imports from Russia during the first semester of 2022 were only 16,546 b/d, almost 60 % lower than the first semester of 2021 . South Korea's crude imports from Russia in May plunged 84.2 % from a year earlier to just 703,000 barrels.
Asian countries who show no interest for Russian crude are securing oil supply mainly from the Middle East and the US. Japan is planning to rely on Middle Eastern producers for almost the 90% of its crude oil supply while Thailand is purchasing mainly from the UAE and the US. Finally South Korea is filling the gaps left from stopping Russian Crude with WTI crude oil imports from the US.
The shift towards other suppliers creates additional demand for tankers and adds more ton miles to the oil trading that significantly support the wetsector, summarize the experts.
