Rising Guyana-USG crude flows benefit Suezmaxes
Surging Guyanese crude exports to the US Gulf coast may benefit Suezmax crude tankers as a potential new export market develops for the South American country's booming production.
Citgo's 167,500 b/d Corpus Christi refinery in Texas has taken three 1mn bl cargoes of medium sweet Payara Gold in May, with a fourth Suezmax, the Nordic Hawk, transiting the Corpus Christi ship channel on 29 May, according to ship tracking data from Kpler. If the Nordic Hawk and the Aframax onto which it lightered discharge by the end of the month, the refinery's imports of Payara Gold would top 100,000 b/d in May, up from 60,000 b/d in April and 32,000 b/d in March, according to Kpler.
US Gulf coast refiners last year imported just two Suezmax-size cargoes of Guyanese crude, or about 5,500 b/d. The primary destinations for the country's roughly 370,000 b/d of oil exports last year, about 85pc of which were hauled on Suezmaxes, were Europe, which took about 60pc, and the US west coast, which took about 25pc via re-export on the Trans-Panama pipeline, according to Vortexa data.
A new market to the US Gulf coast would add to already-rising Suezmax demand in Guyana, where tonne-miles this year through 20 May increased by 45pc from the same period last year and by almost fivefold from the same period in 2022, Vortexa data show.
Charterers moving Guyanese crude often opt for the economies of scale offered by 1mn bl Suezmaxes compared with smaller 700,000 bl Aframaxes.
The start of production at the 220,000 b/d Prosperity floating production, storage, and offloading vessel (FPSO) in November 2023 helped boost Guyana's oil production to 625,000 b/d in April, according to government data. Output in April exceeded the country's rated capacity by 65,000 b/d following improvements at the older Liza 1 and Liza 2 projects in the deepwater Stabroek block.
Mexican substitute?
Increased US Gulf coast imports of Guyanese crude come as crude imports from Mexico fall, exerting downward pressure on rates for Aframaxes since March. US Gulf coast imports of Mexico's medium sour Isthmus have led the declines, falling to about 135,000 b/d from 1 March through 27 May compared with about 220,000 b/d over the preceding three-month period, according to Vortexa data.
"Given the expectation of depressed Mexican crude exports going forward, the push and pull for Guyanese barrels between the US and Europe is likely to be stronger than ever," Kpler analyst Matt Smith wrote in a research note.
Related news posts
Canada’s west coast crude exports up ten-fold on TMX
Canada’s west coast crude exports up ten-fold on TMX
Calgary, 6 September (Argus) — Crude exports from Canada's west coast rose sharply in June as shippers were eager to take advantage of enhanced access to Pacific Rim markets, according to Trans Mountain Corporation (TMC). The 590,000 b/d Trans Mountain Expansion (TMX) pipeline nearly tripled the capacity of the original 300,000 b/d system connecting oil-rich Alberta to Burnaby, British Columbia, with new volumes reaching the Westridge Marine Terminal (WMT) midway through May. Throughputs made a step change in June, the first full month of service, highlighting the pent-up demand among shippers who had waited years for the expansion to be built. Volumes on the Trans Mountain Mainline averaged 704,000 b/d in June, up from 412,000 b/d in May and 300,000 b/d in April, TMC said in its quarterly update. Of those flows, more than half went to the WMT for export in June at 361,000 b/d, ten times the 36,000 b/d sent to the terminal in April. The WMT handled 76,000 b/d of volume in May. Levels at the WMT have held steady in July and August above 350,000 b/d, according to more recent data from Kpler. Most of the volume has gone to China and the US west coast, but cargoes have also been aimed at new markets like Brunei this week . On a quarterly basis, the Mainline handled 471,000 b/d from April-June, up from 349,000 b/d from a year earlier. The WMT handled 157,000 b/d in the second quarter, up from 39,000 b/d across the same period. The Trans Mountain system also has a terminal at the Canada-US border near Sumas, Washington, that diverts crude to refineries in Washington state via the company's 111 kilometre (69 mile) Puget Sound Pipeline. Movements on Puget Sound rose to 246,000 b/d in June, up from 241,000 b/d in May and 199,000 b/d in April. Across the quarter, Puget Sound moved 229,000 b/d, up from 233,000 b/d in the same quarter 2023. Carrying costs for the highly-leveraged C$34bn ($25bn) TMX project weighed on the company's earnings despite an increase in toll-related revenues. Trans Mountain ended the second quarter with C$26.2bn of total debt, up from C$20.1bn a year earlier. Trans Mountain posted a loss of C$48mn in the second quarter, down from a C$172mn profit during the same quarter of 2023. By Brett Holmes Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Japan’s Astomos adds LPG-fuelled VLGC to fleet
Japan’s Astomos adds LPG-fuelled VLGC to fleet
Tokyo, 6 September (Argus) — Japanese LPG importer Astomos Energy has commissioned a very large gas carrier (VLGC) with a dual-fuel LPG engine, adding to its existing fleet of 26. Astomos on 4 September commissioned the 86,953m³ Liverty Pathfinder , which was built by shipbuilder Kawasaki Heavy Industries at its Sakaide shipyard in southwest Japan's Kagawa prefecture and is co-owned by shipping firm NYK. The VLGC is the fourth co-owned vessel with NYK, adding to Gas Capricorn in 2003, Gas Garnet and Gas Amethyst in 2024. The VLGC can use LPG as a bunker fuel from a cargo tank. It is possible to reduce more than 95pc of sulphur oxide and more than 20pc of carbon dioxide emissions when the vessel uses LPG as a marine fuel compared with conventional fuel oil, Astomos said. Japan currently imports 10mn t/yr of LPG to cover 12mn t/yr of domestic demand, according to the Japan LP Gas Association. By Reina Maeda Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Pemex unbilled debts to suppliers climb
Pemex unbilled debts to suppliers climb
Mexico City, 5 September (Argus) — Service providers for Mexico's Pemex are unable to submit new invoices for services performed nearly a year ago even as the state-owned company also struggles to pay down past bills, sources say. These unsubmitted invoices do not appear in Pemex's financial records or in its monthly supplier debt reports, three Pemex suppliers who work mostly in the northern region of the Gulf of Mexico told Argus . Pemex provides vendors a system to submit bills for review and processing, leading to an invoice codifying payments and discounts (Copades). At this stage, Pemex certifies the pending invoice, making it part of the company's monthly supplier report —a transparency measure implemented in 2021. Pemex reduced its overdue debts to service providers by 6pc from May-July, with Ps126.4bn ($6.78bn) in unpaid invoices as of 31 July, down from Ps133.9bn in May. But a significant amount of unbilled work remains because Pemex has not issued the necessary Copades for vendors to begin the payment process, and some of the bills date back to work performed in September, according to two of the vendors. Without the Copades, companies must classify these debts as uncollectible, one vendor said. The issue is concentrated in Mexico's northeast maritime region, where Pemex produces about half of its crude and gas output, according to the vendors. This region includes the Cantarell and Ku-Maloob-Zap fields. Pemex has requested vendors to perform tasks in the area, but the company then claims there is no budget allocated for those bills, the vendors said. This unbilled work adds to Pemex's recognized debt to suppliers, but the size of this unrecognized debt is impossible to estimate, the vendors added. Pemex's unpaid invoices and short-term vendor debts stand at record-high levels, despite receiving over $70bn in government support since 2019. By Edgar Sigler Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Opec+ members agree to delay output increase: Update
Opec+ members agree to delay output increase: Update
Adds details from Opec statement London, 5 September (Argus) — Opec+ members have agreed to delay a plan to start increasing output by two months, following a virtual meeting today. Eight members of the group — Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, the UAE, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria and Oman — are now scheduled to start unwinding 2.2mn b/d of "voluntary" crude production cuts from December over a 12-month period, the Opec Secretariat said in a statement. They previously planned to start unwinding in October. The return of these barrels is still not a foregone conclusion. The eight members retain the "flexibility to pause or reverse the adjustments as necessary", the secretariat said. If they go ahead with their updated plan, their collective output targets will rise by around 180,000 b/d in December. The delay to the output increase follows a steep fall in oil prices in recent days after worse-than-expected economic data in China and the US, and despite an ongoing oil blockade in Libya. The Opec statement did not specify the reason for the decision, nor did it make any note of market fundamentals. The secretariat did, however, highlight assurances by Iraq and Kazakhstan to compensate for producing above their output targets since the start of the year. Both countries have "committed to adjust compensation plans for any over produced volumes in August", Opec said. By Aydin Calik, Nader Itayim and Bachar Halabi Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
![Generic Hero Banner](/_next/image?url=%2F-%2Fmedia%2Fproject%2Fargusmedia%2Fmainsite%2Fimages%2F14-generic-hero-banners%2Fherobanner_1600x530_generic-c.jpg%3Fh%3D530%26iar%3D0%26w%3D1600%26rev%3D8ec86dce0f724687bd325a9a917cffae%26hash%3D9FD39B08C9D84A160C91A3649C40A186&w=3840&q=75)
Business intelligence reports
Get concise, trustworthy and unbiased analysis of the latest trends and developments in oil and energy markets. These reports are specially created for decision makers who don’t have time to track markets day-by-day, minute-by-minute.
Learn more