BP ships nearly three million barrels of US crude oil to Asia

Singapore

OIL major BP is shipping almost three million barrels of US crude to customers across Asia, pioneering a lengthy and complex operation likely to become more popular after Opec (the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) last week announced deep production cuts.

BP's efforts, involving one of the world's longest sea routes, seven tankers and a series of ship-to-ship transfers, underscore a desire among oil traders to develop new routes to sell swelling supplies of cheap US shale oil to Asia, the world's biggest consumer region.