Market Currents: Iran battles for market share in Asia
Tuesday September 27, 2016
1) OPEC members are at loggerheads in Algiers, with it essentially coming down to Saudi’s willingness to cut should Iran freeze its production – and Iran’s lack of willingness to do so. Iran’s oil production has leveled off in recent months around 3.6 million barrels per day, while our ClipperData show its export loadings have done the same, holding around ~2.5mn bpd since May. Nonetheless, Iran continues to reiterate that it wants to increase its market share.
As the chart below illustrates, the majority of Iranian crude loadings are heading to four countries. China is the largest recipient, followed by India, South Korea and Japan. These four Asian nations accounted for nearly three-quarters of Iranian crude exports in the first half of the year.
2) The oil price drop of the last two years has forced U.S. producers into a ‘survival of the fittest’ mode. While over a ...