With US crude continuing to make its way all over the globe,new markets in Asia are beginning to open for US barrels.US crude arrivals in Asia in May are expected to rise to a record 38.1MM bbl,about 1.2MM b/d,according to Refinitiv Eikon data.Two cargoes of US crude have been booked to sail to Australia,trade sources and data companies said.The Aframax tanker Esther Spirit loaded US oil early this month at Enterprise's Houston terminal and is scheduled to discharge at Kwinana in Western Australia on May 20,ship-tracking data from Vortexa showed.The Esther Spirit could be the first ever tanker to sail directly from the US to Australia,according to a Singapore-based trader who tracks this oil flow closely.BP Pic chartered the Silver Sun,an Aframax,to load crude from the US Gulf Coast in the week of April 22 to Kwinana for $2.35MM,according to a shipbroker and Refinitiv data.BP operates a refinery at Kwinana,producing fuels for Western Australia.BP has been importing US crude to Kwinana since late 2016,but the company would usually transfer some US oil from a supertanker to a smaller vessel before sending it to Kwinana.Refinitiv analyst Mark Tay said,“Australia's aging refineries were designed to run regional crude that is typically light and sweet.US crude is a good substitute for typical Australian refinery feedstock.”
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