LOOP Sour becomes heavier, more sour for December: In The LOOP

The US crude blend LOOP Sour was heavier and more sour in December, with about 52% of imported barrels consisting of heavy sour grades.

In total, LOOP imported fewer barrels month on month of Iraqi Basrah Light and Kuwait Export crude.

The oil terminal allocates one of its eight underground caverns to a medium sour blend comprised of US Gulf of Mexico grades Mars and Poseidon and a blend of Middle Eastern crudes called Segregation 17, which is comprised of Arab Medium, Basrah Light and Kuwait Export crude.

The LOOP Sour blend in December had an average API gravity of 29.68 degrees and sulfur content of 2.31%. Its minimum-maximum API gravity range was 29.2-30.2 degrees, while sulfur ranged from 1.82%-2.54%.

API and sulfur are two of many characteristics refiners look at when deciding which crudes to run to maximize or minimize production of particular refined products. Other factors include acidity, metals content, presence of asphaltenes and, ultimately, a distillation curve.

More than 2.1 million barrels were delivered ex-cavern in December, up from 1.85 million barrels in November and 1.775 million barrels in October.

LOOP auctions storage in the cavern through monthly allocation contracts, or CACs, sold during an auction. Each CAC gives the owner the right, but not the obligation, to store 1,000 barrels of LOOP Sour crude in the cavern during the contract month. The cavern holds roughly 7.5 million barrels.

LOOP offers up 7.2 million barrels of that amount monthly.

LOOP received 8.021 million barrels of crude in December, down from 10.257 million barrels in November but up from 6.628 million barrels in October, according to data from S&P Global Platts Analytics and the US Customs office.

Of December imports, about 2.206 million barrels consisted of Iraqi Basrah Light crude, down from 4.566 million barrels in November. Basrah Light has an average API gravity of 30.92 degrees and typical sulfur content of 2.72%.

Kuwait Export crude also made up a large proportion of December imports, with LOOP taking in about 1.451 million barrels, down from 2.017 million barrels in November. Kuwait Export crude has an average API gravity of 30.59 degrees and typical sulfur content of 2.66%.

Other export volumes for December included about 949,000 barrels of Nigerian medium sweet Bonga, 702,000 barrels of Canadian light sweet Terra Nova, 477,000 barrels of Mexican heavy sour Maya, and 452,000 barrels of Brazilian heavy sweet Roncador.

Not all LOOP Sour-deliverable crudes that arrive at LOOP will be delivered into the LOOP Sour cavern.

The 'In the LOOP' Americas crude oil wrap runs each Monday in Crude Oil Marketwire, North American Crude and Products Scan and on the Platts Global Alert. You can read the FAQ: USGC LOOP Sour crude here and find the full special report LOOP Sour Crude: A benchmark for the future here. Also be sure to download our LOOP app by searching for 'Platts LOOP' in your app store.