North Sea crude oil loadings set to fall to six-month low in March

Oil

Exports of the five North Sea crude oil grades which comprise the Dated Brent benchmark are expected to decline by 60K b/d (or 7.4%) m-o-m and 270K b/d (or 26%) y-o-y to 770K b/d in March, according to Energy Intelligence. This is due to be the lightest loading schedule since September 2020, as several European refineries continue to operate at reduced levels and demand from Asia eases. Exports of Ekofisk crude are expected to account for the majority of this decline, falling by 70K b/d m-o-m and 80K b/d y-o-y to 210K b/d.  Despite the overall decrease, loadings of both the Oseberg and Brent grades are set to rise by 30K b/d m-o-m to 100K b/d and 10K b/d to 80K b/d respectively.