Rare Escalante crude cargoes seen at Louisiana port: In the LOOP

The Louisiana Offshore Oil Port has received two cargoes of Escalante crude, a heavy sweet Argentinian grade, so far in May, US Customs data showed.

The cargoes appear to be the oil terminal's first such imports from that region in recent history.

Typically, the Argentinian heavy-sweet grade has been exported through tenders to China, India or the US West Coast.

Houston-based Parnon Energy and consignee Trafigura imported one 545,000 barrel cargo of Escalante into Morgan City, Louisiana -- the delivery point for LOOP -- on May 9 and a second cargo of approximately 469,000 barrels on May 22, according to data from US Customs Bureau and S&P Global Platts Analytics.

Escalante has a typical API gravity of 23.9 degrees and an average sulfur content of .19%.

Both cargoes departed the port of Comodoro Rivadavia, in the south of Argentina, aboard the vessel Olympic Future.

Including the two Escalante cargoes imported into LOOP in May, US refiners have imported a total of 4 million barrels of such grade from January to date, according to the US Customs data. However, zero imports were recorded in 2017.

For the US Gulf Coast region in general, only 529,018 barrels of Escalante have been imported in recent history. All of these cargoes arrived in Corpus Christi, Texas, on March 26 of 2016 aboard the Astro Perseus.

In addition to Escalante, LOOP has also seen imports totaling 1 million barrels of other Argentinian grades, such as Cruz del Sur, San Sebastian and Maria Ines.

According to market sources, recent fiscal reforms in the Argentinian oil industry have given an incentive to oil producers in that country to export more barrels to the international markets. In addition, more barrels of the light Argentinian crudes have been also available as a result of less consumption from refineries located in the South American country.

Argentinian oil refiner Oil Combustibles filed for bankruptcy last May, which led to the stoppage of its 50,300 b/d San Lorenzo refinery, a large consumer of Maria Ines crude.

Meanwhile, YPF -- the largest oil producer in Argentina -- has also reduced the consumption of San Sebastian crude at its 189,000 b/d La Plata refinery. The refinery has a relatively new coker unit, which has been processing heavier grades.

Other sources have said that there is also an interest in lighter Argentinian crudes as they are in compliance with the upcoming International Maritime Organization regulation to reduce the sulfur content in the marine fuels by 2020.

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.