To Meet Demand, U.S. Refineries Seek Oil From Brazil

US Refineries Turn to Oil from Brazil, Iraq, and Africa to Meet Demand

After US sanctions restricted the supply of widely demanded product types, as they prepare for a peak demand period, US oil refineries have turned to various lesser-used suppliers. According to data from Refinitiv Eikon and market sources, aiding the supplies of heavy and “sour” oil, Brazil, Iraq, Nigeria, and Angola are expected to deliver their largest quantities of oil to the US this month in more than 18 months.

In total, May imports of oil from these countries are expected to be more than double the volume from April, amounting to approximately 1.23 million barrels per day (bpd). The shipments include 11 tankers carrying about 600,000 bpd of Iraqi oil, the highest level from the country in a year, data from Refinitiv showed.

Imports from these nations surged compared to the previous month due to reduced supplies from Venezuela and Iran, due to US sanctions, and declining OPEC production.

American refineries are also completing their spring maintenance, preparing for gasoline demand during the holiday season.

Shipments from Brazil, Iraq, Nigeria, and Angola are expected to “offset most of the losses” of Venezuelan heavy crude oil due to sanctions, market sources said.

The interruption of US purchases was due to efforts to curb the flow of dollars to the government of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, which reached around 500,000 bpd last year.

206,000 bpd of Brazilian oil are set to arrive in the US in May, the highest since August, and together, West African producers Nigeria and Angola are expected to deliver 420,000 bpd this month, the highest level in 13 months.

Chevron’s Pascagoula refinery in Mississippi will receive four tankers delivering a total of 95,000 bpd from Iraq, Nigeria, and Brazil. According to Refinitiv data, these are the highest levels recorded from these three countries in over a year.

Two tankers, the Leontios H, with about 500,000 barrels of heavy oil from Brazil, and the Richmond Voyager, with 1 million barrels of “medium sour” oil from Iraq, unloaded in Pascagoula last week. The Cap Felix, with 1 million barrels of Nigerian medium oil, and the Myrtos, with 500,000 barrels of Brazilian oil, are expected to arrive this month, data showed.

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