Greek Corinth crude arrival momentum slows after fire

Crude receipts at Greek refiner Motor Oil Hellas' (MOH) 180,000 b/d Corinth facility fell in September and arrival momentum has slowed, following a serious fire.

Corinth imported 170,000 b/d in September, down from 185,000 b/d in August. The refinery received seven cargoes in the month, but only two were unloaded after the 17 September fire. One cargo of Caspian CPC Blend diverted to BP's 108,000 b/d Castellon refinery in Spain.

The fire has damaged crude distillation (CDU) capacity at the refinery, but MOH has not replied to requests for details.

The two crude cargoes that unloaded following the fire were staple grade Iraqi Basrah Medium, as are a pair signalling arrival. Both of these departed Basrah prior to the fire. One should arrive on 2 October, and the other is travelling via the Cape of Good Hope and is not slated to arrive until 13 October. No other deliveries are signalling arrival.

Around 75pc of the crudes at Corinth are Basrah grades. MOH has previously said it has flexibility in its term contract with Iraq's state-owned Somo and can tailor the pace of deliveries to its needs. Earlier this year MOH said it wanted to buy more Basrah crude from trading firms, but the majority of its cargoes still come direct from Somo, according to Kpler data. This includes the two now on route to Corinth.

MOH regularly blends Basrah with CPC Blend and Libyan Es Sider, plus occasional cargoes of Kazakh Kebco and Norwegian Johan Sverdrup. Prior to the fire MOH bought a cargo of Guyanese Unity Gold for the first time.

MOH had major works in the summer of 2023 on the older and larger of its two CDUs. On completion deputy managing director Petros Tzannetakis said the refinery would run in excess of 200,000 b/d. Receipts are estimated by Argus at 200,000 b/d in the first three quarters of this year (see chart). Receipts in September comprised 85,000 b/d of Basrah Medium, 35,000 b/d of Libyan crude split between Es Sider and Sarir, more than 25,000 b/d of Unity Gold and more than 20,000 b/d of CPC Blend.

Argus assessed these at a weighted average gravity of 32.3°API and 1.7pc sulphur content, compared with 31.1°API and 2.5pc sulphur in August. The slate averaged 32.1°API and 2pc sulphur in the first nine months of the year, a little lighter and sweeter than 30.3°API and 2.5pc sulphur overall last year.

By Adam Porter

Corinth crude deliveries mn bl