Asia Develops a Taste for U.S. Oil Exports
- Region has imported 1 in 3 barrels U.S. has exported in 2017
- Weak American benchmark versus other markers seen aiding flows
Asia Embraces American Oil
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For decades, Asian oil buyers relished Tapis from Malaysia, Seria Light from Brunei, Duri from Indonesia, and Daqing from China. Now, as plunging regional output starves them of high-quality crude, they are developing a taste for something new.
“U.S. crude is becoming more and more popular,” said Wang Pei, an executive at the trading unit of China Petroleum and Chemical Corp., the world’s biggest refiner, that’s known as Sinopec. “Our refining system really likes U.S. crude.”