Guyana’s crude exports in November showed a broad spread of destinations, with rare buyers in Asia taking barrels displaced by an increasingly saturated European market, according to data from the Maritime Administration Department (MARAD) and vessel-tracking platforms.
A total of 28 cargoes, each typically about a million barrels, were lifted from the four producing floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessels offshore Guyana during the month. Cross-checks with VesselFinder, MarineTraffic and Maritime Optima indicate shipments reached 15 countries, reflecting a broader dispersal than usual amid weakening prices and growing supply from Guyana.
Europe remained the largest regional destination but took a reduced share. It received 12 cargoes, or less than half of the total, with shipments going to the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Germany and the United Kingdom. Europe usually absorbs the majority of Guyana’s barrels, but analysts say the region has seen an oversupply of sweet crude, tightening competition.
The Americas took nine cargoes, including shipments to Panama, Canada, Brazil, the United States and the Bahamas.
Asia received five, an unusually high monthly tally for the continent. Alongside China and India — historically infrequent but not unheard-of buyers — Thailand and Malaysia each took single cargoes, marking some of the rarest destinations for Guyanese crude in recent years.
Africa took two cargoes, both of which landed in South Africa.
The emergence of new takers in Asia follows mounting evidence that Europe’s sweet-crude market has grown crowded. S&P Global Commodity Insights previously reported that India has been buying barrels displaced by oversupply in Europe; the trade flows reviewed by OilNOW indicate other Asian refiners are now stepping in as well.
Guyana’s rising output is sharpening the shift. The start-up of the Yellowtail project recently added another 250,000 barrels per day (b/d), lifting national production to roughly 900,000 b/d. The trend of broadening dispersal of Guyanese barrels could continue as ExxonMobil is set to start a fifth oil project offshore the country, which will add another 250,000 b/d in capacity by the end of 2026.
All of ExxonMobil’s Guyana projects are located in the Stabroek Block, a massive offshore acreage it operates in partnership with the Chevron-owned Hess and CNOOC.
