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US Oil Shipments Via Panama Canal Near 4-Year High
Asian Refiners Import More American Crude as Hormuz Disruption Tightens Supply
U.S. oil cargoes transiting the Panama Canal are close to a four-year high as Asian refiners rush to import American crude in lieu of Mideast supplies strangled by the weekslong disruption to Strait of Hormuz shipping.Ìý
U.S. oil exports via the canal — the shortest route between the Gulf Coast and Asia — have surpassed 200,000 barrels a day, close to the most since July 2022, according to data for the first half of April from maritime intelligence firm Kpler.
Even as the U.S. and Iran worked April 17 to hash out a deal to fully reopen Hormuz, conflicting signals about who is in control and who will regulate transits signaledÌýuncertaintyÌýabout when normal Persian Gulf trade flows might resume.
Meanwhile, ballooning wait times to enter the Panamanian waterway are prompting crude shippers to pay more than $3 million to jump to the front of the line, according to people familiar with the matter. For some hydrocarbon byproducts, such as liquefied petroleum gas,Ìýskipping the queueÌýis even more expensive.
Faced with an oil-supply crunch stemming from the near-closure of Hormuz, Asian refiners have been paying more to acquire barrels for immediate delivery. While the Panama Canal can’t accommodate the largest class of tankers, it provides a shortcut to the Far East.Ìý
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Map showing Panama Canal sailings on April 17. (Bloomberg)
A trip from the U.S. Gulf Coast to Japan via the canal takes almost a month, while sailing around Africa via the Cape of Good Hope can take almost twice as long.Ìý
MORE:ÌýShip Pays $4 Million to Bypass Panama Canal Backlog
A spokesperson for the Panama Canal Authority didn’t provide a response to inquiries.Ìý
The vast majority of crude tankers crossing to the Pacific in March and April have been carrying U.S. crude bound for Japan and South Korea, Kpler data shows.Ìý
The surge in seaborne shipments of oil, gas and chemicals has increased wait times at the entry point to the canal, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. A shipper unwilling to wait can bid to jump the line.Ìý
Two shippers hauling crude cargoes paid as much as $3.1 million and $3 million, respectively, to transit the canal this week, according to the people, who asked not to be identified discussing nonpublic information.Ìý
