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More crude exports head to Asia, while Venezuela sanctions may bring higher prices, volumes: Ecopetrol

Executives at Colombia’s state-controlled Ecopetrol said Wednesday an increasing share of crude exports is heading to Asia and that sanctions on Venezuela’s troubled oil industry may be a factor in not just higher volumes, but rising prices for his company’s predominantly heavy crudes.

“Ecopetrol has become a reliable predictable source of crudes,” CEO Felipe Bayon said during a conference call Wednesday with analysts to discuss the company’s fourth quarter and full year 2018 results. In response to a question whether US restrictions on Venezuelan oil exports were affecting the Colombian company, he said only that Ecopetrol was seeing “increased deliveries to China.”

Executives during the call also noted that the average price for Colombia’s basket of crudes had risen since the beginning of 2019 and that Venezuela’s problems could be partly responsible.

The destination profile of Ecopetrol’s exports of crude and products last year shifted dramatically toward Asia, principally China and India. The region accounted for an average 207,300 b/d of Ecopetrol’s crude exports, or 49% of the total, and an increase in volume of 72% from the 120,600 b/d shipped to Asia in Q4 2017.

For the full year, Asia received an average 158,900 b/d of Ecopetrol crude, up 50.5% from the 105,600 b/d shipped there in 2017.

Meanwhile, Ecopetrol crude exports shipped to US Gulf Coast refineries fell to an average 107,000 b/d in Q4, down 63% from the 167,800 b/d shipped there in the same quarter of 2017. Full year exports to Gulf Coast refineries averaged 130,200 b/d, down 7.3% from 141,100 b/d in 2017.

Overall, during Q4, Ecopetrol exported an average 419,600 b/d of crude, an 8.6% increase from the 386,100 b/d exported on average over the same quarter of 2017. For the full year, crude exports averaged 392,400 b/d, down 5.8% from the 416,300 b/d exported in Q4 2017.

The full year drop in exports was caused partly by diversion of more crude to its refineries to take advantage of value-added prices for products, the company said in its earnings statement.

Export shipments of Ecopetrol refined products during the quarter averaged 136,000 b/d, up 28.7% from the 105,700 b/d averaged in the comparable quarter of 2017. For the full year 2018, refined product exports averaged 114,300 b/d, up 8.3% from the 105,500 b/d exported in 2017.

The US East Coast continued to receive the lion’s share — 36% — of Ecopetrol’s exported refined products, as the company exported a total of 48,900 b/d there in the quarter, up 70% from the 28,700 b/d in the same quarter of 2017. For the full year, the US East Coast received an average 31,000 b/d of Ecopetrol’s products, nearly double the 16,900 b/d shipped there in 2018.

Asia, with 24% of product exports, received an average 32,100 b/d of Ecopetrol refined products, up 10% from the 29,100 b/d exported there in Q4 2017. For the full year, the region received an average 27,100 b/d of refined products in 2018, up 22.7% from 22,000 b/d in 2017.

Ecopetrol, which owns the country’s two principal refineries, has more product to sell as it reported record throughput for 2018. At the new Reficar refinery near Cartagena, processing averaged 150,200 b/d of crude, up 1.9% from the 147,400 b/d over Q4 2017. For the entire year, Reficar averaged throughput of 151,300 b/d, up 11.5% from the 135,700 b/d processed in 2017.

Utilization factor continued to improve at the facility inaugurated in 2015, rising to 89.5% in Q4 from 88.3% in Q4 2017. For the full year, utilization of crudes averaged 89.4%, up from 75.3% in 2017. The company has said the ultramodern facility could reach 97% utilization rate when full ramped up later this year.

Total Q4 refined products at Reficar averaged 145,600 b/d, up 2.5% from same quarter of 2017. For all of 2018, Reficar refined 146,800 b/d of product, up 11.3% from the 131,800 b/d produced over 2017.

The larger, older Barracabermeja refinery averaged throughput of 228,900 b/d of crude in Q4, up 3.3% from the 221,500 b/d averaged in the comparable 2017 quarter. For the full year, the facility averaged 221,900 b/d, up 5.8% from the 209,800 b/d in 2017.

Utilization in the recent quarter was 81.3%, down from 84.3% in Q4 2107. For all of 2018, utilization averaged 85% from 80.8% in 2017.

Total refined products at Barrancabermeja averaged 230,700 b/d in Q4 and 224,400 for the full year, up 2.9% and 5.6%, respectively, from the comparable periods in 2017.
Source: Platts

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