Heavies are in fashion

摘要

Sources say that heavy crude prices have been supported not only by OPEC—which has reduced production mainly of heavy, high-sulfur oil—but also by relatively weak gasoline demand growth, especially in the US. As a result, many refiners in the Atlantic Basin have been processing heavier oil to tilt their product slates toward middle distillates. On July 10, Heavy Louisiana Sweet (HLS) rose to WTI plus $2.50/bbl, its strongest differential since Feb. 2015. HLS was also stronger than Light Louisiana Sweet (LLS), which was assessed at $2.30/bbl above WTI. LLS has an API gravity of about 34-41°API and a sulfur content of about 0.4. HLS' gravity is typically around 32-33°API and sulfur at about 0.3.