First Alaskan crude in 14 years heads to Korea

[NEW YORK] The first US export of Alaskan crude to South Korea in more than a decade set sail at the weekend, according to a company source and shipping data, marking another milestone as booming shale oil output forces domestic drillers to seek new customers.

The Suezmax Polar Discovery loaded at the Valdez terminal in Alaska late last week and was due to arrive next week in Yeosu, South Korea, according to shipping data available on Thomson Reuters Eikon. South Korea's second-biggest refiner, GS Caltex Corp, will receive 800,000 barrels of Alaskan crude on Oct 10 after purchasing the oil on the spot market, a company source told Reuters.

It was the first exported cargo of Alaska North Slope (ANS) crude, which is largely excluded from a 40-year US ban on oil exports, since 2004. US government data showed it was the first crude oil exported to South Korea since 2000, excluding a recent cargo of lightly processed condensate exported from the Gulf. Caltex also bought the condensate cargo.