London — Weak demand for naphtha in the US in recent weeks has drawn rare flows of naphtha from Mexico to Northwest Europe, according to market sources and data from cFlow, S&P Global Platts trade flow software.
The 51,246-dwt Hellas Explorer left Coatzacoalcos on the east coast of Mexico on September 16, expected to arrive in Amsterdam around October 2, according to market sources and cFlow. The 51,510-dwt Aegean Wave is still docked in Coatzacoalcos as of Friday, but is also expected to be bound for Europe, according to two market sources.
A market source noted the flow was "fairly rare," with just a handful of vessels taking naphtha from Mexico to Northwest Europe per year. Typically that product goes to the US Gulf Coast or the Canadian diluent market, the source said. However, when the arbitrage from the US to Asia closes, it suppresses demand in the Gulf, pushing Mexican product to find other homes, said another source.
Mexican naphtha can be used for both blending and petrochemical cracking.
The Mexico-NWE naphtha flow has likely been short lived, however, as the arbitrage from the US Gulf Coast to Asia has opened this week, with three vessels seen on subjects to lift naphtha to the Far East in late September to early October.
