In the week to July 3, US refineries boosted the purchases of Mexican crude oil to more than eight years high.
According to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), US buyers bought roughly 1.3 million bpd of Mexican Aframax grade, jumping by 834,000 bpd and posted the highest level since February 2012.
The country’s net imports were driven to the highest since August 2019.
According to market sources and Refinitiv Eikon data, US Gulf Coast refiners were among the buyers in recent weeks. Lyondell Basell, Shell, Valero, and Marathon Petroleum are among them but they did not comment.
Vessel-tracking firm ClipperData said that the crude was delivered to 10 different terminals.
At the moment, the demand for the grade from the East Coast of Mexico to the US Gulf is still busy as companies are looking to book cargoes loading in the mid of this month.
One shipbroker informed that the freight rates for Aframax tankers are lower, supporting the opening up of the arbitrage.
Mexico is among the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its non-member oil producer allies (OPEC+) but their cut in the output cut pact is among the lowest at 100,000 bpd of the 1.75 million bpd in May and June.
The country has extra to sell the extra volume.
