Bakken arb to Washington erodes further

OREANDA-NEWS. October 26, 2015. The arbitrage to ship Bakken crude by rail to the Pacific Northwest eroded further as December Bakken trade emerged.

The estimated premium for Bakken delivered by rail to the Pacific Northwest to Alaskan North Slope (ANS) crude delivered to the US west coast averaged \\$4.91/bl this week, up from \\$4.08/bl the previous week.

Demand for light crude in western Canada and the US midcontinent climbed during November trade as Enbridge will begin service to Montreal, Quebec, next month on its 300,000 b/d Line 9 pipeline. Apportionment on the Enbridge Mainline system's Line 1, which can ship 237,000 b/d of NGLs, refined products and light crude from Edmonton, Alberta, to Superior, Wisconsin, climbed for November to 24pc, the highest level to-date.

In addition, the ANS discount to CMA Ice Brent has deepened to \\$1.96-\\$1.64/bl during December trade for an average discount of \\$1.73/bl. The ANS discount to CMA Ice Brent remained between \\$1.83-\\$1.52/bl during November trade for an average discount of \\$1.61/bl.

The December CMA Nymex WTI/CMA Ice Brent spread has averaged just \\$2.65/bl during December ANS trade. The November CMA Nymex WTI/CMA Ice Brent spread averaged \\$3.22/bl during November ANS trade.

The five-week moving average of BNSF petroleum car loadings fell during the week ending 16 October to the lowest level since the week ending 4 October 2013. BNSF serves numerous rail loading facilities across North Dakota and Wyoming.

November ESPO arrivals

An unusually narrow spread between ANS and ESPO Blend during October ANS trade pushed west coast refiners to fix several ESPO Blend cargoes for November delivery.

ANS delivered to the US west coast during October trade held an average discount of \\$2.53/bl to ESPO delivered to Anacortes, Washington, the narrowest discount since August 2013 ANS trade.

Lukoil International Trading and Supply Company (LITASCO) this week fixed the 105,641t Stavanger Blossom to ship ESPO Blend 4 November from the Port of Kozmino, Russia, to the US west coast. The voyage from Kozmino to Los Angeles, California, takes about 20 days.

LITASCO also fixed the 105,344t Silver Sun to ship ESPO Blend 2 November from the Port of Kozmino, Russia, to the US west coast.

Chevron fixed a Teekay Aframax tanker to ship ESPO 22 October from Kozmino to the US west coast, while BP fixed the 105,335t Pamisos to ship ESPO 20 October from Kozmino to the US west coast. Pamisos was expected to arrive at Kozmino 23 October.

Chevron also fixed the 115,567t Aries Sun to ship ESPO 11 October from Kozmino to the US west coast. Aries Sun departed 12 October from Kozmino and is expected to arrive in El Segundo, California, 31 October.