African sweet crude oil exports expected to grow
REPRESENTING the majority of the crude oil exported from Africa, low sulphur will become ‘increasingly desirable’ in the coming years, Poten & Partners said.
As explained, the demand for the so-called sweet crude oil will increase as IMO sulphur cap 2020 will force the majority of the shipping industry to switch to low sulphur bunker fuels — with less than 0.5% sulphur.
“Growing markets in Asia will be the primary destinations for these volumes and we expect that VLCCs and Suezmaxes will benefit the most from any additional ton-miles,” according to the ship brokerage and consulting company.
The African oil industry has seen significant changes in recent years as one of their primary export markets, the United States, has ramped up oil production and, as a result, reduced imports from Africa dramatically. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), Africa produces about 7.25 million barrels per day…
