The US crude blend LOOP Sour was lighter and sweeter in November, even as the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port saw increased imports of Iraqi Basrah Light and Kuwaiti crude oil.
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 November had an average API gravity of 29.71 degrees and sulfur content of 2.22%. Its minimum-maximum API gravity range was 29-30.5 degrees, while sulfur ranged 1.9%-2.4%. API and sulfur are two many characteristics refiners look at when deciding which crudes to run in order 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 1.850 million barrels were delivered ex-cavern in November, up from 1.775 million barrels in October and 525,000 barrels in September. 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 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 10.257 million barrels of crude in November, up from 6.628 million barrels in October and down from 11.244 million barrels in September, according to data from Platts Analytics and the US Customs office.
Of November imports, about 4.566 million barrels consisted of Iraqi Basrah Light crude, up 1.05 million barrels from September. Basrah Light crude 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 November imports, with LOOP taking in about 2.017 million barrels. In contrast, LOOP did not import any barrels of the grade in October. Kuwait Export crude has an average API gravity of 30.59 degrees and typical sulfur content of 2.66%.
It is important to note that 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.
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