Chile’s crude import mix in November shifted from previous months, as an increase in the purchase of US crude weighed on the intake of some grades more dominant in previous months.

Chile’s state-owned oil company Enap began to import US crude from November onwards this year, with deliveries continuing in December, Vortexa data show.

Rising US crude production appears to have stoked appetite in new markets such as Chile – which was not listed by the US EIA in its destinations for monthly crude export data to August.

Aside from the imports of US-sourced crude last month, Chile also drew in volumes from elsewhere in North America, namely east Canada’s Whiffen Head terminal – the first observed import from Canada since at least the beginning of 2015.

Imports from traditional supplier Ecuador formed the majority of Chile’s intake in last month, followed by Brazil, whose share however dropped from previous months. The remainder was made up by the North American volumes. The overall import rate in January-November stood at around 160,000-170,000 b/d.

December flows from US continue

Expected December crude imports from the US include the Suezmax Sonangol Kassanje, which co-loaded with volumes from Houston Fuel Oil Terminal after a ship-to-ship transfer (STS), and the Ingleside terminal in Corpus Christi port.

Late December should also see the arrival of Suezmax Front Crystal, which also loaded from the Ingleside terminal. The tanker is expected to arrive to San Vicente at the very end of the month.