By Arathy Somasekhar
HOUSTON (Reuters) – Peru’s area of interest Bretaña crude oil is gaining recognition in the USA, with the primary cargo discharging within the U.S. Gulf Coast this month as U.S. refiners search alternate options for declining Mexican heavy crude.
Bretaña, a uncommon heavy candy crude with minimal metals, is produced within the Peruvian facet of the Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) rainforest. It’s then barged alongside the Amazon river and loaded onto bigger ships that depart from Brazil.
The vessel Radiant Satisfaction transported about 300,000 barrels of Bretaña from Manaus, on the banks of the Negro river in Brazil, and discharged on Jan. 2 in Houston, ship monitoring knowledge from Kpler and LSEG confirmed.
The cargo was purchased by oil main Shell (LON:SHEL), a supply mentioned. Shell declined to remark.
“Given the drop in heavy bitter crude from Mexico to the U.S. Gulf Coast over the past 12 months, we’re beginning to see new heavy grades being pulled in to backfill this loss – it is a pattern we solely count on to proceed,” mentioned Matt Smith, an analyst at Kpler.
U.S. imports from Mexico fell to their lowest on report in 2024 because the Latin American nation’s oil manufacturing fell and a bigger portion of output remained at house to be refined.
Two cargoes of Peru’s Bretaña, a comparatively new entrant into the market since manufacturing started in 2018, discharged on the U.S. West Coast final 12 months – one at Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) and one other at PBF Power (NYSE:PBF) terminals, the Kpler knowledge confirmed.
Marathon Petroleum declined to remark. PBF Power didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
PetroTal Corp, the producer of Block 95 the place the Bretaña oilfield is situated, purchased the property from Canadian producer Gran Tierra Power (NYSE:GTE) in 2017, and presently produces about 20,000 barrels of oil per day, in accordance with Chief Govt Officer Manuel Zúñiga.
Challenges with transporting the crude through a pipeline operated by Peru’s state oil agency Petroperu led to a short halt in exports between 2022 and 2024, Zúñiga mentioned.
Petroperu has struggled in recent times to maintain the road operational amid spills and social battle interrupting its stream.
Three cargoes of Bretaña headed to the U.S. West Coast and one to the U.S. East Coast between 2020 and 2022, Kpler knowledge confirmed.
About 90% of the Bretaña crude produced by PetroTal is exported, and the remaining is transported by barges to Petroperu’s refinery in Iquitos, Zúñiga mentioned.
PetroTal has a contract with Houston-based Novum Power below which Novum buys the crude for export and arranges its transportation, Zúñiga added.
Novum didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
Whereas PetroTal hopes to extend manufacturing, allowing delays in addition to reliance on barges are a present limitation, Zúñiga mentioned.
“You want entry to the pipeline,” Zúñiga mentioned, including that the corporate is working to safe use of the infrastructure.
Petroperu mentioned final 12 months that it could maintain negotiations with producers within the Peruvian jungle in order that they will use the pipeline with a good price to assist cowl operational prices.
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