According to an article published in Reuters, South Korea’s top refiner SK Energy chartered a supertanker to ship U.S. crude to South Korea for a record $10 million.
Increase in freight rates
As freight rates continue to surge after U.S. sanctions on Chinese firms, SK Energy has chartered a supertanker to ship U.S. crude to South Korea for $10 million.
The company fixed the Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) Maxim to load between November 8-12, three shipping sources said. It was the highest-priced shipment from the U.S. Gulf Coast to Asia on record, based on data going back to about 2013, before a ban on U.S. crude exports was lifted, two of the sources said.
South Korea emerges as the highest buyer
South Korea is one of the biggest buyers of U.S. crude this year, with U.S. shipments totaling 531,000 barrels per day (bpd) in July, up from 226,000 bpd in the same month last year, according to the latest available data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
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Source: Reuters
