Refiners on the US Gulf Coast are increasingly turning to Latin American heavy crude as Canada’s recently expanded Trans Mountain pipeline reroutes global oil flows, reports Bloomberg.
Signs of the shifting tides include Mexican state oil company Pemex recently buying Colombian oil for its refinery in Texas and American refiner Valero Energy Corp. scooping up Colombian grades that typically sail to India and China.
North American fuelmakers have seen their typical supplies thin out as the expanded Trans Mountain pipeline sends more of Canada’s crude to the Pacific Coast. At the same time Pemex is keeping more Mexican crude to run its new Dos Bocas refinery, according to market participants, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
In recent weeks, some Latin American oil grades that typically flow to California are also making their way to the Gulf Coast, according to Argus market data.
Trans Mountain has helped raise prices for Canadian crude, making Latin American oil of similar quality attractive again. For example, Cold Lake crude — a heavy Canadian grade often used by Gulf Coast fuelmakers — traded at a discount of US$4.80 a bbl to benchmark West Texas Intermediate oil in the US Gulf Coast market on Tuesday. That’s narrower than the average discount of US$7.40 last year.
From the startup of the expanded Trans Mountain in May through July, Gulf Coast refineries imported about 485 000 bpd of Canadian crude, the lowest amount for that period since 2018, according to data from the Energy Information Administration.
Pemex has already bought three cargoes of Colombian oil for its Deer Park refinery in Texas since April. Valero bought Colombian grades Mares and Apiay, two types that are typically shipped to Asia.
World Pipelines’
October 2024 issue
The October 2024 issue of World Pipelines includes a keynote section
on pipelines in the MENA region, plus technical articles on operational technology for pipeline
networks, pipeline isolation and intervention, and trenchless technology. We also cover
pipeline inspection, pipeline services, and subsea repair.
Read the article online at: https://www.worldpipelines.com/business-news/24102024/latin-american-oil-finds-new-buyers-as-canadian-pipeline-shifts-flows/
World Pipelines is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inboxGet our free Inside Washington emailGet our free Inside W
A World War II American warship, destroyed by Japanese forces following the Pearl Harbor attack, has been located in the depths of the Indian Ocean.The USS Ed
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emailsSign up to our free breaking news emailsSign up to our fr
Who’s who in the new First Family?Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inboxGet our free Inside W