MOSCOW (MRC) -- The United States will sell 32 MM bbl of crude from four Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) sites to be delivered between late-December and April 2022, the Department of Energy (DOE) said as it auctions oil to try to lower global prices, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.
International oil prices have held above USD80 a bbl even after U.S. President Joe Biden's administration announced on Tuesday it will release millions of bbl of oil from strategic reserves in coordination with Britain, China, India, South Korea and Japan.
However, traders said they expected the sale of SPR oil, which is mainly blended sour, or high-sulphur, crude, will depress the value of U.S. sour crude grades, such as Mars and Southern Green Canyon, and benefit buyers in Asia, which processes mainly high-sulphur oil.
In the first auction of the coordinated release, about 10 MM bbl will be made available from Big Hill and Bryan Mound in Texas, about 7 MM bbl from West Hackberry in Louisiana and another 5 MM bbl from Bayou Choctaw in Louisiana, the DOE said on its website. Deliveries will take place January through April 2022, with early deliveries accepted in late December, it added.
Buyers will have to return the oil at later dates between 2022 and 2024, the DOE said. Companies are required to submit bids on Dec. 6 and contracts will be awarded no later than Dec. 14. One trader speaking on condition of anonymity said, spread over four months, the release equated to a steady 270,000 bpd stream of medium sour grades providing direct competition to Mars.
The DOE will also announce the sale for up to 18 MM bbl of SPR crude no sooner than Dec. 17. The winners of a regular, legally required U.S. SPR sale in September of 20 MM bbl of crude were: Atlantic Trading & Marketing Inc, an arm of French company TotalEnergies , Chevron USA, ExxonMobil Oil Corp, Marathon Petroleum Supply and Trading, Motiva Enterprises, Phillips 66 Co, Unipec America Inc and Valero Marketing and Supply Co.
As per MRC, crude oil futures plunged in mid-morning trade in Asia Nov. 26 as investors were spooked by reports of a new COVID-19 variant from South Africa that appeared to evade immune responses, sparking a sharp sell-off in the broader financial markets. At 10:05 am Singapore time (0205 GMT), the ICE January Brent futures contract was down USD1.13/b (1.37%) from the previous close at USD81.09/b, while the NYMEX January light sweet crude contract was USD1.52/b (1.94%) lower at USD76.87/b.
According to MRC's ScanPlast report, PP shipments to the Russian market were 1,138,510 tonnes in January-September 2021, up by 30% year on year. Supply of propylene homopolymer (homopolymer PP) and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas supply of injection moulding statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) decreased significantly.
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