Taiwan’s Formosa Petrochemical Corp 6505.TW has joined other Asian refiners in seeking U.S. oil supplies by issuing a rare tender to buy sour crude from the United States, four industry sources said.
The Taiwanese refiner last imported U.S. crude three years ago.
Formosa’s tender comes as the arbitrage window for U.S. crude exports to Asia opened briefly last week, the sources said. South Korean and Indian refiners have bought crude grades such as Mars and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for delivery in October and November, they said.
“Mars seems cheap last week,” one of the sources said.
Formosa is seeking 1 million barrels of U.S. sour crude for delivery between Oct. 20 and Nov. 20, the sources said.
The tender will close later on Wednesday with offers valid on the same day.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Florence Tan; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)