*South Korea’s crude imports remained depressed at 2.63mn b/d for October, level with Q3 (MEES, 16 October), but some 250,000 b/d down on average 2019 volumes. Of the country’s top suppliers, only number one Saudi Arabia put in a strong performance: 961,000 b/d for October is the second highest this year and up 150,000 b/d on average 2019 volumes.
*The remainder of Korea’s top five Middle East suppliers – Kuwait on 346,000 b/d, the UAE on 141,000 b/d, Qatar on 123,000 b/d and Iraq on 117,000 b/d – all saw October volumes that were down not only on typical 2019 levels but on the year-to-date average for 2020 too. Indeed, the Iraq figure was a six-year low. The US on 297,000 b/d for 10M 2020 and 288,000 b/d for October makes up the top six overall. (CONTINUED - 356 WORDS)
