--Middle East

Japanese refiners aimed to increase imports of Saudi Arabian grades ex the Yanbu Port, off the Red Sea, as an alternative route while the Strait of Hormuz was virtually blocked. Even after the Iran conflict started, Japanese imports of Saudi Arabian grades for loading from the Red Sea were limited, since there were concerns over potential attacks on tankers passing through the Red Sea by Yemen's Houthi group. But Japan's imports of crude oil recently fell sharply, raising needs even more to secure cargoes for loading in Yanbu. Crude grades to load from the Yanbu port are mainly Arab Light (AL) and Saudi Arabia supplies Arab Super Light (ASL) to some of its long-term buyers. For Saudi Arabian crude imports for Yanbu loading, an Aframax tanker was scheduled to arrive on Mar 28 to Taiyo Oil's 138,000 barrels per day (b/d) Kikuma refinery, southwestern Japan. This is the first cargo for loading in Yanbu since the start of the war.

-- Africa/Europe/Russia/America

In trade for Brazilian crude, Chinese buyers were expanding their spot purchases. Chinese end-users bought large volumes of some grades such as Tupi and Buzios for May to June arrival, with total purchases reaching around 20mil barrels (equivalent to about 10 VLCCs), according to sources. The prices were said to have been at premiums of around $12 to Dated Brent.

The surge in large-scale procurement was driven by growing concerns over supply instability stemming from escalating tensions in the Middle East. As fighting surrounding Iran intensified and significantly reduced the availability of Middle Eastern crude, Chinese end-users actively turned to Brazilian grades as part of their diversification strategy, given their stable quality and relative availability.

--Asia Pacific

US Chevron suspended production for Australian Wheatstone and Gorgon condensates. Chevron stopped operation for its LNG production facilities off the coat of Northwestern Australian as a precautious measure for approaching tropical cyclone Narelle. But it would not take long time for resuming production. Unless some production glitches crop up due to unstable weather conditions, "Supply of these condensates is unlikely to be delayed significantly," said an energy company in Southeast Asia.