Oil shipments from the US to China rose to $80 million per voyage — OilPrice
The cost of transporting oil from the US Gulf Coast to China reached $80 million per voyage in early October. This is roughly ten times higher than the average rates that had persisted for years. As OilPrice reports, high freight costs have nearly eliminated the economic viability of supplying US oil to Asia.
Rates later declined from the record levels of early October, but this week transporting oil by supertanker from the US to Asia still cost about $60 million per voyage. As a result, Asian refineries have reduced orders for US crude for November deliveries.
Purchases in Asia declined
According to traders cited by Bloomberg, Asian refiners ordered about 25 million barrels of US oil this month for delivery in November. This is approximately 50% less than in September. If purchasing rates do not change before the end of the trading cycle, November deliveries of US oil to Asia could become the lowest in seven years, vessel-tracking analysts believe.
Randy Hawkins, Valero Energy's vice president of international supply and oil trading, said that transporting a VLCC from the Gulf Coast to Asia costs an average of $30–35 per barrel. By comparison, the 2025 average was about $5 per barrel.
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Ship shortage on other routes
OilPrice links the shortage of vessels to longer voyages in the Strait of Hormuz area. Ship-to-ship oil transfers in the Gulf of Oman are delaying supertankers for weeks, limiting the availability of very large crude carriers for other routes, including between the US and Asia.
According to Kpler, the fleet serving this route has grown to approximately 80 VLCCs. The average round-trip duration between Basra in Iraq and Sohar near the coast of Oman reached 23 days, while 9–10 days is considered optimal.
Amid expensive freight rates, Asian buyers are turning to Middle Eastern crude grades, while European refineries are more often opting for supplies within the region. At the same time, US and West African oil is becoming cheaper: some West African grades were sold at discounts of up to $20 per barrel to offset the costs of long-distance transportation.
