SINGAPORE/HOUSTON: Prices of Canadian and US West Texas Intermediate crude oil to Asia jumped after shipping costs rallied on concerns that wider US sanctions on the Russian fleet are tightening ship availability, trade sources said on Tuesday.
Asian refiners face a margin squeeze as their costs of crude and shipping have spiked since Washington earlier this month imposed sweeping new sanctions targeting Russian insurers, tankers and oil producers.
Discounts for Canadian crude exported via the Trans Mountain pipeline (TMX) and delivered to China in April have narrowed $1-$2 a barrel from the previous month, the sources said.
China’s Rongsheng Petrochemical, top buyer of Canadian TMX crude, bought two Access Western Blend (AWB) crude cargoes from TotalEnergies unit Totsa and another trader at $2-$3 a barrel below June ICE Brent for April delivery, they said, versus deals at about $4 a barrel discount for March.
The Chinese refiner also bought a Cold Lake cargo from Macquarie at a discount of about $1.70 a barrel to June ICE Brent for April delivery, the sources said. Another Chinese refiner, Shenghong Petrochemical, also bought a Cold Lake cargo from BP at similar levels, they added.
Similarly, offers for US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) Midland crude have jumped close to $6 a barrel to Dubai quotes for deliveries to North Asia, the sources said, although trade has slowed as the current trading cycle is coming to an end.
The freight rate for a very large crude carrier capable of carrying 2 million barrels of oil from the US Gulf Coast to China is at $9.69 million on Wednesday, down $305,000 from Tuesday, shipbroker data showed.
Still, it marks a jump of over $3 million since Jan. 10 when the US imposed additional sanctions on Russian producers and more than 100 tankers.
US major Exxon Mobil tentatively chartered a VLCC from the US Gulf Coast to China for February for $10.1 million on Friday, ship broker data showed.
Japan’s Mitsui & Co chartered a VLCC from North Sea to South Korea for $9.95 million for late January, according to shipbrokers, about $3.6 million above previous such deals.
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June Goh, a senior analyst at market intelligence firm Sparta Commodities, expects Asian refiners to secure supply by snapping up cargoes from West Africa, Brazil and Canada, although they have become more costly due to higher freight costs and rising premiums.
This could erode refiners’ margins and lead to more refinery run cuts, she added. Strong buying from China and India also pushed spot premiums for Middle East crude to their highest in more than two years last week.