Norway boosted crude exports ahead of the looming oil price war, providing tanker owners longhaul employment opportunities, vessel-tracking data showed.

The Nordic country exported 1.27m barrels per day (bpd) in the first quarter on the back of increased output from the giant Johan Sverdrup field, up 304,000 bpd from the same period of 2019, according to Kpler.

Of the quarterly exports – the highest in more than half a decade – 179,000 bpd were destined for China, with 51,000 bpd for Turkey and Sweden each, among others.