Asian refiners have increased purchases of Argentine Medanito crude after the
Iran conflict disrupted Middle East supplies, traders said. Japanese and South
Korean refineries have bought Medanito cargoes, with at least one shipment
loaded earlier this month. Medanito is a WTI-like grade. Since the conflict
began, U.S. crude sales into Asia for September loading have risen about 64%.
Volumes of Argentine crude heading to Asia remain small versus other producers,
but the buying highlights refiners’ push to diversify supplies and shore up
energy security. Argentine government data show average crude exports this year
of 215,000 bpd, mostly bound for the United States and Chile.
