Crude oil exports from Türkiye have maintained their downward trend during the first five months of 2024, established since the start of 2023. In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Banchero Costa said that “2023 has been another positive period for crude oil trade, despite the high oil prices and risks of economic recession. In Jan-Dec 2023, global crude oil loadings went up +4.7% y-o-y to 2186.8 mln tonnes, excluding all cabotage trade, according to vessels tracking data from Refinitiv. The positive trend continued in Jan-May 2024, when global loadings increased by +1.2% y-o-y to 930.8 mln t, from 919.8 mln t in the same period of 2023. Exports from the Arabian Gulf were down by -1.0% y-o-y to 366.3 mln t in Jan-May 2024, and accounted for 39.4% of global seaborne trade. Exports from Russian ports (including Kazakh crude) also declined by -1.1% y-o-y to 95.4 mln tonnes, or 10.3% of global trade. From the USA, exports increased by +2.7% y-o-y to 87.0 mln tonnes in Jan-May 2024. From South America, exports surged by +13.6% y-o-y to 72.9 mln t. From ASEAN exports surged by +24.6% y-o-y to 56.9 mln t”.

Source: Banchero Costa

According to Banchero Costa, “in terms of demand, the top seaborne importer of crude oil in Jan-May 2024 was Mainland China, accounting for 23.0%…