*Whilst Thailand remains in the second tier of global crude importers, volumes have been growing rapidly, hitting a record 1.12mn b/d for 2018. For top supplier the UAE, Thailand is a key market: with 361,000 b/d for 2018, Thailand was second only to Japan (775,000 b/d) among UAE customers.
*But Thai crude imports have slid so far in 2019, with Q2 and Q3 seeing the first two quarters of sub-1mn b/d imports since early 2017. UAE volumes have slid even further, to 250,000 b/d for Q2 and 242,000 b/d for Q3, the lowest quarterly figure this decade, whilst September’s 141,400 b/d is the lowest figure in the MEES database stretching back to 2007 (see chart and table). This comes as UAE (almost all Abu Dhabi) shipments to Japan soared to a record 1.10mn b/d for August, the latest data shows (MEES, 4 October). (CONTINUED - 300 WORDS)
