Trafigura, Vitol steer more Venezuelan crude to Asia buyers

Trafigura and Vitol are pushing more Venezuelan crude into Asia as rising output in Venezuela coincides with disruptions to Middle East supplies during the Iran war. Trafigura offered 500,000 barrels of Merey 16 to South Korean refiners, and Kpler data show the cargo was discharged into storage in South Korea in early June. The same Trafigura-chartered tanker, Nissos Kea, also delivered oil to a Malaysian port serving Petronas' Melaka refinery. Vitol-chartered supertanker Solana unloaded 2 million barrels into floating storage off Malaysia for later distribution. Traders also offered cargoes to India at discounts of about $6 a barrel to Dated Brent. China, once Venezuela's top Asian buyer, has not purchased since the Trump administration moved to control Venezuela's oil sales.