Asian refiners have bought large volumes of U.S. crude for October shipment, with 18 to 20 very large crude carrier slots already booked by mid-month. According to Sina Finance, the total purchase volume is about 36 million to 40 million barrels.

The buyers include refiners in Japan, South Korea, Singapore, and other parts of Southeast Asia. The larger U.S. crude buyers so far include Cosmo Oil, Idemitsu Kosan, and SK Energy.

Landed prices for U.S. crude shipped to Asia have continued to rise, and October-shipment cargoes were priced at about $30 a barrel above the Dubai benchmark this week. U.S. crude shipped in October on very large crude carriers typically arrives in Asia around December.