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Oil company BP is in the process of delivering nearly 3 million barrels of US crude oil to customers throughout Asia. The company started first long and complex operation which is likely to become more popular after last week’s OPEC contracts reduced yields of oil. The efforts of BP, including one of the longest sea routes in the world, seven oil tanker and series of vessel-transfers, highlight the desire among oil traders to develop new routes to sell growing supply of cheap American shale oil in Asia, which is leading consumer in the world.

Although exports of US crude oil was permitted only a year ago after 40 years of prohibition, the distance, cost and complexity of delivery to Asia until now stopped supplies to the region.

Now using its global supply chain and trade network, BP has managed to overcome the limitations of American ports and the need to transfer oil between ships around Malaysia to split the load for customers throughout Asia.

Although the operations of BP are currently the most advanced, and others have begun to develop trade between the US and Asia.

The Chinese Unipec, which is commercial division of the largest refining company in Asia Sinopec, delivered about 2 million barrels of light American crude oil to China this month. The trading house Trafigura also exports about 2 million barrels to Asia.

Incentives supply of American oil to Asia increased since OPEC and Russia agreed to cut production, encouraging refiners in the region to look for alternatives to offset the potential decline in demand.

The operation to dispatch oil worth about 150 million USD to buyers from the Asia-Pacific region lasted four months and included traders BP in the US and Singapore, while their counterparts in London were responsible for hiring ships, say sources and the data show the same. The deal was facilitated by cheap rates for tankers and curve price / time at which future oil supplies are more expensive than those of immediate discharge, making oil even from as far away as the US profitable.