HOUSTON (Reuters) – Peru’s Bretaña crude oil is becoming more popular in the United States, with its first cargo arriving at the U.S. Gulf Coast this month. U.S. refiners are seeking alternatives to the declining supply of Mexican heavy crude.
Bretaña is a unique heavy sweet crude with low metal content, produced in the Peruvian Amazon. After production, it is transported via barges along the Amazon River, then loaded onto larger ships in Brazil for export.
The vessel Radiant Pride carried approximately 300,000 barrels of Bretaña from Manaus, located on Brazil’s Negro River, and unloaded the cargo in Houston on January 2, according to ship tracking data from Kpler and LSEG. The shipment was purchased by Shell, a source confirmed. Shell declined to comment.
Matt Smith, an analyst at Kpler, noted that the decline in heavy sour crude imports from Mexico to the U.S. Gulf Coast over the past year has created room for new heavy crudes like Bretaña to fill the gap. “We expect this trend to continue,” Smith said.
U.S. imports from Mexico fell to a record low in 2024, driven by a drop in Mexico’s oil production and an increase in domestic consumption.
Bretaña made its U.S. debut in 2023, with two cargoes delivered to the U.S. West Coast. One was unloaded at Marathon Petroleum, while the other went to PBF Energy terminals, according to Kpler data. Marathon Petroleum and PBF Energy declined to comment.
PetroTal Corp, the producer of Bretaña from Block 95 in Peru, purchased the assets in 2017 from Canadian company Gran Tierra Energy. PetroTal currently produces around 20,000 barrels of oil per day, CEO Manuel Zúñiga said.
Transport challenges caused by a pipeline operated by Peru’s state oil company Petroperu briefly halted Bretaña exports between 2022 and 2024, Zúñiga explained. Petroperu has struggled with maintaining the pipeline due to spills and social disruptions.
Between 2020 and 2022, three Bretaña shipments went to the U.S. West Coast, and one was sent to the East Coast, Kpler data showed.
Around 90% of PetroTal’s Bretaña crude is exported, with the remaining portion sent by barge to the Iquitos refinery in Peru, Zúñiga added.
PetroTal has a contract with Houston-based Novum Energy, which purchases Bretaña and manages its transportation. Novum did not respond to a request for comment.
While PetroTal aims to increase production, delays in permits and reliance on barges remain challenges, Zúñiga noted. “We need access to the pipeline,” he said, emphasizing that the company is working to secure pipeline access.
Petroperu announced last year that it plans to negotiate with producers in the Peruvian jungle to offer fair rates for using the pipeline, helping cover operational costs.
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