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LONDON—Asia’s
imports of crude and refined oil from Mediterranean
ports may be more than triple this year as Far Eastern
countries seek to diversify their sources of energy,
according to shipbroker Riverlake Shipping SA.
Asian
oil consumers may import as many as 203 million barrels
of oil from Mediterranean producers such as Alge- ria,
Libya and Egypt, compared with about 53.2 million
barrels last year, Geneva-based Riverlake analyst Luis
Mateus said in an e-mail last week.
“China
is very much dependent on Russian oil, but
diversification has intensified as nobody wants to be
dependent on just one single supplier,’’ Mateus said.
“Even if it is more expensive to import oil from the
Mediterranean in comparison to
Africa, they still prefer to diversify their energy needs.’’
China,
the world’s fastest-growing oil importer, will bring in
6.7 percent more crude this year to sustain the fastest
rate of economic expansion in the world. Meanwhile,
North African producers are seeking to boost output to
capitalize on oil prices of around $60 a barrel.
Cargoes
from the Mediterranean are typically shipped on
so-called Aframax tankers of the kind owned by
Bahamas-based Teekay Shipping Corp., the world’s largest
oil-tanker company. Aframax vessels are among the
preferred vessels for non-Organization of Petroleum
Exporting Countries because the harbors and canals they
use to export oil are too small to accommodate
supertankers.
The
acceleration in exports from the
Mediterranean to
Asia will outpace increases from
Black
Sea, Baltic Sea and West African ports, according to
Riverlake.
Shipments to Asia from terminals in the Baltic Sea, home
to Russia’s largest oil port, Primorsk, may grow 42
percent to 18.9 million barrels. Black Sea flows may
remain unchanged from last year at 42 million barrels,
and volumes from West Africa may advance 8 percent to
420 million barrels.
--Bloomberg |
