Demand for light North Sea Forties crude appears to be waning from the Asia- Pacific refiners that helped mop up a surplus in the second quarter. Buyers in Asia-Pacific took 150,000 b/d of Forties in the second quarter, or 36pc of loadings (see graph, upper left). Eastbound purchases continued in early July, but became uneconomic in the second half of the month. And it is uncertain whether the most recent VLCC to leave the Hound Point terminal in Scotland for South Korea will in fact make the journey.
展开▼
