The first shipment of US oil to South Africa in two years, according to ship tracking data and a source. It is already on its way to a Glencore-owned refinery in Cape Town. The refinery was forced to shut down after an explosion in 2020.
Competitive pricing for US grades, as well as China’s reopening following COVID-19, have fueled global demand for oil. This has propelled US exports to a record high of 4.5 million barrels per day this year.
According to ship tracking data from Refinitiv Eikon and energy data provider Kpler, the tanker Sonangol Porto Amboim departed Corpus Christi, Texas, on May 16, bound for Saldanha Bay on South Africa’s west coast, carrying a cargo of light sweet oil.
The majority of South Africa’s oil comes from West and Central Africa, as well as Saudi Arabia, according to Kpler data. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has altered oil flows, making US crude more competitively priced.
According to customs records, the United States sent its final oil shipment to South Africa in May 2021.
Glencore, a Swiss-based commodities trader, purchased the 850,000 barrel cargo of West Texas Light. According to a source familiar with the situation.
Astron Energy, which is majority owned by Glencore, has resumed production. It’s been nearly three years since an explosion at its 100,000 barrel per day Cape Town refinery.
Glencore has remained silent on the shipment. The refinery was restarted in stages, and Astron has confirmed that production has resumed at full capacity.
Astron, the southern African refiner with the second-largest retail fuel network, has its oil delivered to its Cape Town facility via pipeline from tankers loading in Saldanha Bay.
