US West Coast refiners see less imports of Canadian synthetic crude in October: customs

Refiners on the US West Coast decreased imports of light, sweet Canadian synthetic crude in October, US Customs and S&P Global Commodity Insights data showed, indicating that tighter Canadian crude supply has been leading to less imports.

Syncrude imports to the US West Coast averaged 71,588 b/d in October, according to data from the same sources. This compares with the 77,862 b/d imported in September and 67,699 b/d in August.

Syncrude is a light sweet crude blend with an API of 33.4, according to recent assays. Synthetic grades have become increasingly popular with refiners on the US West Coast looking for light barrels in the wake of the Trans Mountain expansion, which came back online in May.

Platts, part of Commodity Insights, most recently assessed Syncrude Sweet premium at Edmonton at a 20-cent/b premium to the WTI CMA. Syncrude differentials have fallen from their five-month high of a $4/b premium to the WTI CMA assessed back on Aug. 13.