OPEC Middle East Oil Flows Surged in April as Saudis Opened Taps

OPEC Middle East Oil Flows Surged in April as Saudis Opened Taps

Crude supplies from OPEC's Middle East exporters, excluding Iran, soared in April to their highest level since at least January 2017.. Flows from the country's Yanbu terminal on its Red Sea coast rose by about 36% to 1.53 million barrels a day, with shipments continuing to go into storage tanks on Egypt's Mediterranean coast.. Iraq's shipments fell month on month by 170,000 barrels a day, to their lowest level in three months, as crude sales to India plunged.. Observed shipments from Persian Gulf OPEC countries, excluding Iran, to China soared in April, rising to an unprecedented 4.76 million barrels a day, as shipments from Saudi Arabia and Iraq both surged to their highest levels since Bloomberg began tracking the flows in detail at the beginning of 2017.. Shipments from the region to Japan appear to have slumped in April after edging up in March.. Flows to Japan from all four Persian Gulf OPEC countries were down month on month, bringing total shipments from the region to their lowest level in almost two years.. Flows to South Korea, the other big Asian buyer of Persian Gulf crude, rose by 200,000 barrels a day, or 13%, in April, reaching their highest