*South Korea had a long-running policy of diversifying its crude sourcing away from the Middle East, but after Russia’s 24 February invasion of Ukraine, Seoul has appeared to be turning its back on its diversification policy by prioritizing Mideast crude over Russian barrels (MEES, 22 July).
*Mideast volumes rose to 2.31mn b/d in July – the highest since April 2019 – for a market share of 73%. Number one Saudi Arabia contributed to 41% of this figure by supplying 954,000 b/d for July, up 25% from June’s 765,000 b/d. Yet three-year high Mideast volumes were largely attributed to the influx of imports from other Gulf states. (CONTINUED - 255 WORDS)
