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US imports of Mexican unrefined fall to least expensive on record, EIA says

U.S. weekly imports of Mexican petroleum was up to the lowest on record in the early April, as Mexico's state energy business Pemex cut exports to supply more to its domestic refineries.

The imports dropped to 209,000 barrels daily (bpd) in the week ended April 5, information from the U.S. Energy Details Administration (EIA) revealed on Wednesday.

The imports balanced about 733,000 bpd in 2023. The previous weekly low was 226,000 bpd in the last week of 2021.

reported recently that Pemex requested its trading system to cancel approximately 436,000 bpd of unrefined exports for April and a minimum of 330,000 bpd for May to retain materials for its own refineries, including the most recent, the Dos Bocas refinery.

The Dos Bocas refinery in the southeastern state of Tabasco, which has been running behind schedule and over budget plan, is part of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's strategy to wean the nation off expensive fuel and diesel imports.

Pemex last month revealed its crude production in February had been up to the most affordable level in 45 years.

The cancellations in April include a 122,000 bpd reduction of Mexico's flagship Maya crude, prized by Gulf Coast refiners that usually run medium and heavy oil.

A trader with direct knowledge of the matter said that while operational concerns usually result in substantial variations in exports, the low export levels in April and May are most likely to continue over the coming months, implying U.S. refiners and traders will have to buy more barrels from the domestic market to compensate.

U.S. refiners will also try to find comparable quality crude from Canada or Venezuela, 2 sources knowledgeable about the marketplace characteristics stated.

To balance out the scarcity, the U.S. imported 531,000 bpd of petroleum from Saudi Arabia last week, the greatest in 7 months. Total U.S. imports fell 184,000 bpd to 6.4 million bpd.

Rates for heavier crude along the U.S. Gulf Coast have climbed in current weeks, in part due to the fall in Mexican exports.

Maya rates at the U.S. Gulf Coast climbed to about $78.80. per barrel on Wednesday, according to prices data company. General Index. That was more than $1 greater than in the previous. session and about $9 more than the average last year.

Carriers are weighing repositioning tankers to serve other. markets as Maya exports decrease, a shipping market source. stated.

(source: Reuters)