Latest News

Heavy oil lack spells greater cost for carriers, roadway builders

Mexican export cuts and a rerouting of Canadian output are shrinking currently limited supplies of heavy crude in the Atlantic basin, increasing refiners' expenses with a likely knockon impact to industries ranging from shipping and construction to Middle Eastern power plants.

Extended OPEC supply cuts and worldwide sanctions on Venezuela, Iran and Russia had already caused shortages of heavier crude, with the complex refineries developed to process it, such as those in the U.S. Gulf, struggling to discover low-cost products.

Heavy-sour crudes yield more recurring fuel oils that are either upgraded into higher-value roadway fuels, or converted into marine fuels and bitumen.

The mix of tighter heavy crude and fuel oil materials, along with the seasonal rise in power generation demand is expected to rise fuel oil fractures in the weeks ahead, stated Vortexa expert Xavier Tang, referring to the spread between the price of crude and the refined product.

More marine fuel oil is required by ships making longer trips around Africa to prevent the Red Sea location, while in summertime Saudi Arabia burns more fuel oil for cooling and demand also increases from greater building and construction and road-laying activity.

Mexico cut crude exports in April to facilitate higher domestic processing as it looks for to end a pricey reliance on fuel imports. That more threatened sour supply in the Atlantic basin where refiners have been preparing for the opening of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion which will divert more heavy Canadian crude to the Pacific.

Heavy crude rates in the U.S. Gulf skyrocketed as refiners sought replacement supply, with the Mars grade hitting a near four-year high versus WTI on April 1 according to LSEG information.

U.S. Gulf refiners have a lot more costly Canadian base feedstock through pipelines, they have less Mexican available, and as a repercussion other heavy-sour alternatives are significantly more pricey, stated Viktor Katona, lead crude expert at Kpler.

In Europe, the Argus Brent Sour index - that includes Norway's flagship Johan Sverdrup grade - hit a 14-month high in mid-April and is still trading approximately in line with light-sweet benchmark dated Brent, according to cost firm Argus Media.

Although costs cooled slightly as Mexican domestic crude demand increased by less than expected, freeing up more for export, the sour market remains structurally tight.

The worldwide crude slate is getting increasingly lighter and sweeter as a direct result of constrained OPEC production, meanwhile non-OPEC+ countries are providing growing volumes of lighter, sweet crude, stated Jay Maroo, head of market intelligence at Vortexa, referring to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies such as Russia.

Unless there is any major change in course by OPEC, it's. hard to see that pattern reversing.

Light and medium-sweets have accounted for more than 50% of. Europe's unrefined imports considering that 2019 according to Kpler data. Medium and heavy-sours comprised just 26% of the continent's. imports in the very first four months of 2024, the lowest given that at. least 2012.

STABILIZING ACT

High-density, higher-sulphur crudes are harder to improve and. for that reason typically cheaper than lighter oil. The greater rates. are a specific headache for refiners who invested in the. expensive upgrading units that permit them to process the heaviest. grades.

The absence of heavy sour crudes goes directly against. refinery profitability and it is a waste of capex for complex. refineries, stated Rystad Energy's vice president of oil market. analysis Patricio Valdivieso.

Refiners will have to adapt to an absence of heavy crude like. Mexican Maya by mixing any other comparable grades they can discover. that would match their configuration, according to Hillary. Stevenson, director at IIR Energy.

Making the most of the relative abundance of light crudes. might show economically and operationally hard for U.S. refiners.

If they attempt to go lighter, the end impact would be lower. success, stated Rommel Oates, founder of Refinery. Calculator, adding that a lighter crude diet can impact the. stability of a refinery's downstream systems.

Refiners can stabilize a lighter crude diet plan by feeding. recurring fuels into secondary systems. U.S. Gulf refiners could. process as much as 50,000 bpd extra of Mexican fuel oil to replace. heavy crude, according to FGE expert Francisco Goncalves.

That may not be possible for Europe's refineries nevertheless,. which would have a hard time to process such heavy-sour fuel oil into. road fuels, Kpler's Katona included.

Prior to 2022, Europe's primary source of heavy fuel was. Russia, but the G7 embargo over its invasion of Ukraine has actually cut. off access to refinery feedstocks such as vacuum gasoil and. straight-run fuel oil.

In Northwest Europe, high-sulphur fuel oil barge fracture. spreads versus Brent futures struck their greatest considering that Jan. 4 at. around an $11 discount on Wednesday, according to Argus Media. price data.

A tighter fuel oil market is surely also at play, stated. Sparta Commodities expert Neil Crosby.