First TMX cargo booked on Aframax to China
The first cargo shipped on the Trans Mountain Expansion (TMX) crude pipeline is scheduled to load on an Aframax in Vancouver, British Columbia, beginning 18 May for June delivery in China, according to sources with knowledge of the transaction.
Suncor provisionally booked the Aframax Dubai Angel for a Vancouver-China voyage at $3.5mn lumpsum, equivalent to $6.39/bl for Access Western Blend, market participants said.
In March, China's state-run Sinochem purchased the first TMX cargo — 550,000 bl of Canadian Access Western Blend — for June delivery.
The shipping fixture would mark the first Vancouver-China crude delivery since May 2023, according to Vortexa, a possible indicator of steady Asia-Pacific demand to come with increased maritime access for Canadian oil producers.
China already receives heavy sour Canadian crude re-exported from the US Gulf coast, with about 110,000 b/d arriving in 2023, Vortexa data show.
The new 590,000 b/d pipeline begins commercial service on 1 May, with three Aframax-capable berths at Vancouver's Westridge Marine Terminal, up from one previously.
An oversupply of Aframax crude tankers on the west coast of the Americas in anticipation of TMX-driven demand pressured Vancouver-loading rates to six-month lows on 19 April, according to Argus data, but market participants expect demand to increase beginning in the second half of May.
Three regulatory approvals remained under assessment by the Canada Energy Regulator (CER) on 30 April. The applications concern piping, valves and other components at two pipeline inspection device traps and the mainline pipe between the two traps. The traps were added for safety assurance when the operator was allowed by CER to use a smaller diameter pipe as part of the Mountain 3 deviation.
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Houston area refiners weather hurricane-force winds
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Houston Ship Channel open after storms
Houston Ship Channel open after storms
Houston, 17 May (Argus) — The Houston Ship Channel reopened to all traffic around 1am ET Friday after strong storms closed a portion of the waterway late Thursday, according to the US Coast Guard. A roughly eight-mile portion of the Houston Ship Channel from the Sidney Sherman Bridge to Greens Bayou closed from 9pm ET to 1am ET due to two ship breakaways and a probe into a potential fuel oil spill, the Coast Guard said. That span of the channel offers access to Chevron's 112,000 b/d Pasadena refinery, Valero's 215,000 b/d Houston refinery and LyondellBasell's 264,000 b/d Houston refinery, as well as Targa's Galena Park LPG marine terminal and Kinder Morgan's refined product terminal in Galena Park. A storm brought winds up to 74mph to the Houston area on Thursday night, according to the US National Weather Service. By Tray Swanson Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
India’s Gail signs 14-year time charter for LNG carrier
India’s Gail signs 14-year time charter for LNG carrier
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Texas barge collision shuts GIWW section: Correction
Texas barge collision shuts GIWW section: Correction
Corrects volume of oil carried by barge in fourth paragraph. Houston, 16 May (Argus) — Authorities closed a six-mile section of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GIWW) near Galveston, Texas, because of an oil spill caused by a barge collision with the Pelican Island causeway bridge. The section between mile markers 351.5 and 357.5 along the waterway closed, according to the US Coast Guard. A barge broke away from the Philip George tugboat and hit the bridge between Pelican Island and Galveston around 11am ET today. Concrete from the bridge fell onto the barge and triggered an oil leak. The barge can hold up to 30,000 bl oil, but it was unknown how full the barge was before the crash, Galveston County county judge Mark Henry said. It was unclear when the waterway would reopen. An environmental cleanup crew was on the scene along with the US Coast Guard and Texas Department of Transportation to assess the damage. Multiple state agencies have debated the replacement of the 64-year-old bridge for several years, Henry said. The rail line alongside the bridge collapsed. Marine traffic does not pass under the bridge. By Meghan Yoyotte Intracoastal Waterway at Galveston Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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