{
  "id": 19624558,
  "title": "Asian Oil Buyers Turn to Africa and Brazil as Tanker Rates Plunge",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/12/asian-oil-buyers-turn-to-africa-and-brazil-as-tanker-rates-plunge",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-11-12T08:30:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "OilPrice",
    "slug": "oilprice",
    "url": "https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Asian-Oil-Buyers-Turn-to-Africa-and-Brazil-as-Tanker-Rates-Plunge.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Asian oil buyers are increasingly gravitating towards African and Brazilian crude grades as tanker rates from the Persian Gulf plummet to historic highs, according to Reuters. The freight rates for shipping oil from the Gulf have remained near historic highs, but have now decreased significantly enough to attract Asian buyers such as China's Sinopec and South Korea's SK Energy. Sinopec's trading arm, Unipec, recently purchased two cargoes of Djeno crude from Congo at a discount of $22 compared to dated Brent crude. SK Energy also provisionally chartered a Suezmax tanker to transport crude from Gabon to South Korea's Ulsan port in December.\n\nAnalysts from Energy Aspects attribute the decline in long-haul VLCC freight rates to improved vessel availability, which has grown by roughly 15% since early September. The correction in freight rates is being fueled by better vessel availability following October's exceptional market tightness. Vortexa shipping analyst Wanying Zhang stated that supertanker rates from the Gulf to Asia peaked at $1.4 million daily in October, but have since retreated. The Middle Eastern producers have resorted to ship-to-ship transfers outside the Strait of Hormuz to circumvent the bottleneck, resulting in shuttle tankers ferrying oil through the Hormuz and loading it onto supertankers in the Gulf of Oman.",
  "summary": "Asian energy commodity buyers are increasingly turning to African and Brazilian grades, attracted by lower prices as rates for shipping oil out of the Persian Gulf remain near historic highs. Freight rates were at record levels for South American and African cargoes earlier this year, but have now declined enough to entice Asian buyers, Reuters noted in a report, citing unnamed sources including…",
  "key_points": [
    "Asian oil buyers favor African and Brazilian crude due to plummeting tanker rates.",
    "Sinopec and SK Energy purchased Djeno crude from Congo at $22 discount to Brent.",
    "Vessel availability improved by 15% since early September, contributing to rate decline."
  ],
  "editors_take": "Shifting procurement toward African and Brazilian crude allows major Asian refiners to capitalize on lower freight costs and regional discounts as vessel availability improves across global shipping routes.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}