April 22, 2024 08:59 GMT
US West Coast Refiners Buy Oil from TMX for June Loading
OIL
Valero Energy Corp. and Chevron Corp. are buying heavy oil for their California refineries shipped through the expanded Trans Mountain Pipeline system in Canada, according to Bloomberg sources.
- The heavy Cold Lake crude produced in the oil sands is set to be loaded on Aframax tankers in June from the Westridge Terminal near Vancouver.
- The first sales from the expanded pipeline for delivery to Western US refiners follows sales to Asia to China’s Sinopec Group and Sinochem Group.
- The purchases are a sign that refiners may become a significant market for oil-sands crude. Only relatively small Aframax tankers are able to access Vancouver and the US West Coast offers shorter transport times compared to deliveries to Asia.
- The expanded pipeline is expected to commence operations by May 1, which will almost triple the capacity to 890kb/d.
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