The U.S. Department of Energy has accepted an offer from Mexico's state oil company Petroleos Mexicanos to exchange Maya crude stored in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve for two types of higher-quality crude.
P.M.I. Norteam?rico SA de CV, Houston, a commercial arm of Pemex, was one of seven companies responding to DOE's solicitation (OGJ, Aug. 24, 1998, p. 27).
P.M.I. will deliver 8.524 million bbl-4.25 million of Isthmus crude and 4.274 million of Olmeca crude-in exchange for 11 million bbl of the lower-quality Maya, during October-December.
DOE had offered to exchange the Maya crude oil to improve its capability to withdraw and distribute crude from its Bryan Mound site near Freeport, Tex.
The Maya crude was purchased in the early 1980s as part of the initial buildup of the SPR but must be stored separately from other crudes, reducing the drawdown rate.
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