China and India have sharply increased imports of Mexican crude in recent months, apparently because of growing demand from their economies but also as a safeguard against the vagaries of the current market, a source in state Pemex said Monday.
The amounts are not great, but they are significant in the Mexican context, the source noted.
China and India imported an average of 123,000 b/d of Mexican crude in January and the last two months of 2010, the source said.
That figure is almost as much as Mexican shipments to Europe. But the shipments to Europe have been fairly steady in recent years, while those to Asia have been close to insignificant.
In the first 10 months of 2010, Pemex exported 40,000 b/d to Asia, slightly more than the 35,000 b/d for each of the previous three years.
"The relatively sudden increase is recent," the source said. "We suspect it's a combination of factors. Both China and India have huge populations and they need a lot of oil to feed the rapid growth in their economies. It's also probably the case that, in view of the recent uncertainty in the market, they might be looking to diversify their sources of supply."
In January, Mexico exported 1.444 million b/d of crude, according to Pemex. Of that total, 80% was sent to clients in the Americas, the overwhelming majority of it to the United States. Asia and China amounted to 8.4%.
