GGlobal seaborne crude oil loadings were mostly flat in 2024. In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Banchero Costa said that “after a positive 2023, when global crude oil loadings increased by +4.6% yoy, things are calmer in 2024 .In January-December In 2024, global crude oil loadings rose slightly by +0.4% yo-y to 2,194.7 million tons, excluding all trade. cabotage, according to ship tracking data from Refinitiv. Exports from the Arabian Gulf fell -0.2% yoy to 873.3 million t in Jan-Dec 2024, and accounted for 39.8% of global seaborne crude oil trade. Exports from Russian ports (including oil of Kazakh origin) also fell -0.5% yoy to 229.5 million tons, or 10.5% of global trade. From South America, exports jumped +11.3% yoy to 199.5 million t. From the US, exports ended flat +0.0% yoy to 197.9 million tonnes in Jan-Dec 2024. From West Africa, exports fell -1.6% yoy to 170.8 million tonnes. Exports from ASEAN jumped by +7.0% yoy to 123.2 million tonnes in Jan-Dec 2024 (but this of course includes re-export volumes from Russia).
According to Banchero Costa, “in terms of demand, the largest importer of crude oil by sea in January-December 2024 will be Mainland China, which accounts for 23.3% of global trade. Volumes to China fell -0.5% yoy to 512.3 million t in Jan-Dec 2024, from 514.9 million t in Jan-Dec 2023. Imports to the EU27 increased slightly by +0.2% yoy to 473.9 million t, accounting for 21.5% of global trade. For ASEAN, imports increased by +7.1% yoy to 264.5 million tonnes (again this includes volumes from Russia which were then re-exported to other countries in Asia). To India, volumes increased by +2.6% yoy to 234.0 million t in Jan-Dec 2024. To South Korea, imports fell by -1.7% yoy to 138.3 million t. For Japan, imports fell by -7.0% yo-y to 113.1 million tonnes in January-December 2024. The United States is arguably the party that has benefited most from the sanctions regime imposed on Russia and from OPEC’s efforts to support oil prices through cutting production quotas. ”.
“Exports from the US have increased sharply in recent years, until it is now the third largest exporter in the world, after Saudi and Russia. The Americas now account for 9.0% of global crude oil loading (excluding cabotage). Crude oil exports from the US increased by +22.9% yoy in 2022 and +19.5% yoy in 2023. Volumes from the US in 2023 increased by +53.2% compared to 2019. 2024 started strong, and in the first 9 months volumes increased by +3.3% higher compared to the same period in 2023. However, the fourth quarter was very disappointing, with volumes increasing. down by -9.5% compared to the fourth quarter of 2023. About 56 percent of international crude oil exports from the US in Jan-Dec 2024 were loaded in Corpus Christi, about 15 percent from Houston, about 11 percent from Galveston, about 4 percent from LOOP, about 4 percent of Bayport, about 2 percent of Beaumont. “Given existing infrastructure limitations, only 52 percent of crude oil volumes loaded at US ports in January-December 2024 will be loaded on VLCCs,” the shipbroker said.
“Most of the VLCC cargo is loaded in Corpus Christi, Galveston, and LOOP. About 25 percent of the volume is loaded on Suezmax, and 21 percent is loaded on Aframax. In terms of shipping destinations, it is quite diversified, around 46% to Europe, 39% to Asia, and the rest to America. In the European direction, around 73.7 million tons (37.2 percent of the total) were sent from America to the European Union in January-Dec 2024, while around 17.4 million tons (8.8 percent of the total) were sent to the UK. Specifically, 24.3 million tonnes were shipped in Jan-Dec 2024 to the Netherlands, 10.8 million tonnes to France, 11.6 million tonnes to Spain, 8.0 million tonnes to Germany, 7.2 million tonnes to Italy, 3 .1 million tonnes to Denmark, and 2.4 million tonnes to Sweden. Overall exports from the US to the European Union fell by -0.9% y-oy in Jan-Dec 2024. To Asia, around 21.4 million tons were sent from the US to South Korea in Jan-Dec 2024 (10.8% of total US exports), rose +5.9% yoy. Volumes in Mainland China fell -36.8% yoy in Jan-Dec 2024 to 13.4 million tonnes, after surging +93.8% yoy in Jan-Dec 2023,” concluded Banchero Costa.
Nikos Roussanoglou, Worldwide Hellenic Shipping News
