Koch Ships First Ultra-Low Sulfur Diesel to Mexico

Koch Supply & Trading Mexico is importing its first cargo of ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD) into Mexico through the Port of Veracruz.

The product was supplied via the company’s US export system and will be delivered through a multi-year services agreement with the newly revamped Veracruz facility owned and operated by Vopak Mexico, who obtained the first regulatory authorization for an independent party to store and handle petroleum liquids.

Koch said that the cargo will be the first waterborne delivery of motor vehicle fuel by a private party since the Mexican petroleum industry was nationalized in 1938.

Under the country’s energy reform which began in 2013, independent companies can provide new alternatives for fuel supplies. By utilizing an existing facility that has been retrofitted, Koch Mexico can deliver imports significantly earlier versus other terminals which have yet to be permitted and constructed.

“This is an important new supply route to Mexico for transportation fuels produced by US refineries such as Koch Mexico’s affiliate, Flint Hills Resources, which operates a 300,000 barrel per day facility in Corpus Christi, Texas,” Pete Ramirez, vice president of Koch Mexico, said, adding that the company plans to import up to 40,000 barrels (6.4 million liters) per day of these products into Veracruz.

Koch and Vopak secured all applicable federal, regional and local permits. The parties have not disclosed the terms of the deal.