In the LOOP: LOOP Sour deliveries rebound in November from multi-month low

The Louisiana Offshore Oil Port said Saturday that about 17,670 b/d of LOOP Sour was delivered ex-cavern from the US Gulf Coast crude terminal in November, which was over a 40% increase from the month before.

LOOP said 530,000 barrels of the medium sour crude blend were pulled from the Louisiana cavern last month. That was an increase from the 370,000 barrels delivered in October, which marked a more-than-one-year low. Deliveries dipped in October as the market shifted from backwardation to contango, making storing crude more attractive. However, that contango has eased and the market has become slightly backwardated, a trend that would make crude storage less favorable.

LOOP Sour delivered ex-cavern in November had an average API gravity of 29.6 and sulfur content of 1.94%, LOOP data published Saturday showed. LOOP Sour comprises US Gulf of Mexico grades Mars and Poseidon and a crude blend called Segregation 17, named after a cavern into which the Middle Eastern grades Arab Medium, Basrah Light and Kuwait Export Crude can be delivered. The grade has been most similar to Mars in terms of API gravity over the past 12 months, averaging 0.33 degree off Mars' typical 29.44; and to Arab Medium from a sulfur standpoint, averaging 0.02 percentage point off Arab Medium's typical 2.53%.