US, Brazil and North Sea 'benefitting most' from Opec cuts

A possible new trend of oil being supplied to Asia from the US, Brazil and the North Sea has been identified, as the Opec production cuts alters global oil flows.

Crude oil exports to Asia from the US, Brazil and the North Sea have jumped 55% in the first four months of 2017, according to analysis by Vortexa, the oil markets analytics platform.

Last week, Opec prolonged to March 2018 an original November deal that saw the cartel and non-cartel members reduce production by 1.8m barrels a day.

As Opec cuts take effect, non-Opec countries have been filling the growing gap in Asian oil demand, said Vortexa chief executive Fabio Kuhn.

"Oil exports to Asia, in particular China and South Korea, from the US and Brazil were already growing, but flows at these volumes are unprecedented and we believe that this is the beginning of an enduring trend.

US crude exports to Asia have increased almost sevenfold compared to the same time period last year, with the US now averaging 222,000 barrels per day, according to data from the platform.

Brazilian exports have seen a more than 50% increase for the same time period, now supplying an average of 588,000 barrels a day to the region.

"Asia’s demand for oil has also taken a significant amount of North Sea barrels away from their traditional European market, with an average of 398,000 barrels a day going to Asia in the first four months of 2017," Kuhn said.