Asian Buyers Can't Get Enough Of U.S. Sweet Crude Oil

Sweet crude grades from the U.S. Gulf Coast have seen increased interest from Asian buyers in recent weeks, as many refiners in the world’s largest oil-importing region are purchasing more of the sweeter crude varieties, energy analytics firm Vortexa says. Asian refiners are looking for more crude of the sweeter variety as high energy costs are making sour crude processing more expensive. The high cost of hydrogen, which is used to remove the sulfur from the sour grades in diesel hydrocrackers, has risen in recent months amid the natural gas crunch in Europe and Asia.