Ecuadorian state oil company Petroecuador said it awarded two contracts of 1.08 million barrels each for Napo and Oriente crude, with delivery in large tankers through the Punta Gorda port.
U.S. refining company Phillips 66 Company won the tender for Napo heavy crude, after bidding a West Texas Intermediate (WTI) price minus $6.12 per barrel, plus an additional award of $1.18 per barrel for delivery at Punta Gorda in Esmeraldas, Petroecuador added in a statement.
For this tender, the state oil company allowed as an option that delivery of Napo be carried out in a single batch of 1.08 million barrels, “achieving for the first time an award for the joint loading of this hydrocarbon.”
The Napo crude will be delivered via a new connection with Punta Gorda, a maritime port of the private OCP Ecuador, which now services larger vessels. The country hopes to boost oil exports to the Asian market.
In a separate tender, Petroecuador awarded Unipec America a total of 1.08 million barrels of Oriente crude, winning with an offer of a discount of $2.14 per barrel below the price of WTI crude plus an additional premium of $1.27 per barrel for delivery in Punta Gorda.
The two crudes are expected to be delivered in July, Petroecuador said.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Alexandra Valencia; Writing by Sarah Kinosian; Editing by Richard Chang)