According to Quantum Commodity Intelligence, an independent price reporting agency, China is set to take delivery of a direct shipment of Guyanese crude oil, the first in three years. Data from commodity analytics firm Kpler showed a very large crude carrier (VLCC) scheduled to load nearly two million barrels this week, Quantum said.
The tanker Ulysses departed from the Liza Destiny floating oil production vessel in the ExxonMobil-operated Stabroek Block in Guyana on May 14, a check with tracking services showed. Quantum reported that the vessel will sail east via the Cape of Good Hope for a late June arrival in China.
If completed as planned, it would mark the first direct voyage from Guyana to the Far East aboard a VLCC since 2022, according to Kpler data cited by Quantum. It said such VLCC loads do not typically go directly to Asian destinations like China, but are offloaded at the Trans Panama Pipeline’s Atlantic facilities for transport to the Pacific Coast, and then reloaded onto other tankers bound for Asia.
Panama is one of the top direct destinations for Guyanese crudes since the start of the year, according to data accumulated from Marine Traffic, Vessel Finder, Maritime Optima, and OilX. The crude grades exported from Guyana are also favored by Europe, mainly the Netherlands, the data shows.
Guyana’s crude production currently exceeds 600,000 barrels per day (b/d) from three developments. A fourth is set to boost output to about 900,000 b/d when it starts production in the third quarter.
In addition to ExxonMobil, its Stabroek partners Hess and CNOOC, and the Guyana government are entitled to the crude, which is divided based on a production sharing agreement (PSA) and may be sold. The Guyana government expects 246 cargoes, each approximately a million barrels, to be exported this year.
