Page 7 - LatAmOil Week 10 2023

LatAmOil MEXICO LatAmOil

Advanced gasoline blending components for Latin American markets (Image: Lyondell Basell)

This accounted for 79% of all US exports of statistics calculation, Argus Media said.)
MTBE last year and was far in excess of Mexico’s While Mexican demand for MTBE is
2021 MTBE imports of 658,678 tonnes. expected to continue to rise in the years ahead,
In total, the US exported 1.35mn tonnes of it will probably consist mostly of neat exports
MTBE in 2022, up from 978,309 tonnes in 2021. rather than blended product as the country
Mexico was easily the main destination for these boosts domestic gasoline production. Some of
volumes, followed by Chile, which absorbed this increased demand is likely to be met by a
229,678 tonnes in 2022, and Singapore, which newly expanded tertiary butyl alcohol plant in
imported 38,694 tonnes, Argus Media said. Channelview, Texas, which will be able to sup-
MTBE is an oxygenate compound that allows port MTBE usage outside Mexico’s main met-
more complete combustion when blended into ropolitan hubs.
gasoline. Due to its composition, it is appropri- MTBE came into wide use within the US as
ate for use in densely populated areas. Currently, an octane booster in the 1970s but was phased
US-produced MTBE is a required blending out during the 2000s in favour of corn-based
component for gasoline in Mexico’s three most ethanol.
heavily populated cities: Mexico City, Guadala- However, it continues to be exported to for-
jara and Monterrey. eign markets from plants along the US Gulf
(Mexico does import finished gasoline Coast. Major producers include TPC Group,
with MTBE already blended. However, it does LyondellBasell, Indorama, ExxonMobil and
not include such imports in its MTBE export Enterprise Products. ™

COLOMBIA
Hostages freed after protesters stage raid

on Sinochem subsidiary’s Capella A field

PROTESTERS seeking to draw attention to the Caguan, took a violent turn. Videos posted on
poor state of roads in Colombia raided Capella social media sites showed the unarmed police
A, an oilfield within the Ombu block assigned officers being placed in a truck and taken away.
to a unit of China’s Sinochem Group, last week, According to Caracol Noticias, a local televi-
taking 78 police officers and six oil workers sion channel, all of the surviving hostages were
hostage. set free on March 3. Colombian President Gus-
According to local media reports, one police- tavo Petro has issued a statement promising to
man and a civilian died after the demonstration, speak personally with the demonstrators about
which occurred near the town of San Vicente del their grievances, the channel noted.

Week 10 08•March•2023 www. NEWSBASE .com P7