After eight years of absence, Ecuadorian crude differentials return to the radar of Argus

Eight years after the Ecuadorian Oriente and Napo crudes left the radar of international publications, the digital platform Argus resumed the report on the differentials of the country’s crude oils.

In In 2014 said publication had been suspended “due to the minimum volume of Ecuadorian crude that was destined for commercialization in the market spot”, Petroecuador recalled. Indeed, in those years, the government of Rafael Correa stopped complying with the legal regulations that forced the company to allocate at least 10% of the exportable supply to sales spot.

“The fact that the publications of the differentials in Argus return is an important step to recover the presence of Ecuadorian crude and revalue it in the international arena,” said the manager of the public company, Ítalo Cedeño.

The announcement was ratified this morning during the third contest so far this year of sales spot organized by Petroecuador for Oriente crude and the second of the year for Napo crude, obtaining prize-winning offers in both cases. It is that Petroecuador offered medium-term contracts for Oriente crude for 7,920,000 barrels, while 3,960,000 barrels for Napo crude were also offered.

In the first case, for Oriente crude (lighter than Napo) -which would be delivered in 22 shipments from July 2022 to May 2023- five offers were received: Trafigura, which offered a prize of $0.57; Equinor one of $0.11; Marathon, $0.75; PetroJam $0.73 and Petroperú $0.72.

In the second contest, in relation to the raw Napo (which is a heavier oil) there were only two offers, from Trafigura ($0.22) and PetroPeru ($0.72). The delivery time also extends between July 2022 and May 2023.

In both contests, the highest prize would be the winner, although Petroecuador would announce the official results in the next few hours. In any case, Cedeño expressed his satisfaction in the sense that the companies that presented the best offers: Marathon, a refiner from the United States, and Petroperú, a state-owned company in the region, had an outstanding participation, with excellent offers.

Precisely this type of results can be seen in Argus Americas Crude and Argus Crude, because the indicators will be based on the data that will be delivered by EP Petroecuador. According to Petroecuador, the purpose of publishing these indicators is to make this information transparent, which serves as a basis for marketing Ecuadorian crude internationally.

For Fernando Santos, former Minister of Energy, is very positive for the country that Ecuadorian crude is once again reported by Argus. He recalled that national oil did not appear in any international publication, since there was no competitive market. This because all the crude was being delivered to China and Thailand, that is, the market was captive. Instead, now with the publication a benchmark is established and it is ratified that there is already a free market for this crude, he said.

The manager of EP Petroecuador, Italo Cedeño, He pointed out that this action will allow new serious and renowned companies in the world to be interested in the oil bidding processes that the state oil company develops permanently, especially in the market. spot. He also said that it will be an opportunity for the main players in the hydrocarbon industry to know the real figures of these processes, especially if EP Petroecuador is expected to become a public limited company in the future and open up to foreign markets through the stock market. . (I)