Bloomberg: Statoil Books Supertanker to Ship North Sea Crude to South Korea

“Statoil booked a very large crude carrier to haul North Sea oil to South Korea, raising the number of supertankers involved in the trade to 15 since mid- December, shipbroker reports showed. Statoil chartered the Elizabeth I.A. to load crude at Mongstad in Norway on July 15 at a cost of $4.85 million, according to data from New York-based Poten & Partners Inc. . . . The unprecedented crude flow is taking place after South Korea and the European Union signed a free-trade agreement in July 2011. The accord exempted the nation’s refineries from a 3 percent tax on crude imports from the EU.”