Taiwanese refiner Formosa Petrochemical Corp has bought its first-ever cargo of U.S. crude oil—Mars grade—as part of efforts to diversify supplies, Reuters reports , citing a company spokesman. The spokesman, KY Lin, said the refining margins from processing Mars crude were comparable to the margins from Iraq’s Basra Light , while its sulfur content was lower than the Iraqi grade. “We will try out the U.S. crude at our refinery, whether it’s suitable, and decide later if we’ll include the grade in future spot purchases,” KY Lin said. Formosa Petrochemical is not the first Taiwanese refiner to turn to U.S. crude. Its peer CPC Corps imports at least 4 million barrels a month of U.S. oil. The wider Asian market has also seen an increase in shipments from the United States this year as Middle Eastern and Russian Far East grades have become costlier because of the OPEC+ production […]