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Market Chatter: Chevron Redirects SPR Oil to California Amid Middle East Supply Risks

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California received an oil shipment from the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve this month for the very first time, according to a Reuters report Wednesday.

The Iran conflict reduced shipments of Middle Eastern crude, increasing pressure on California, which imported about 230,000 barrels per day of regional oil last year.

Strong demand from Asian buyers also limited alternative crude supplies available to California refiners, increasing dependence on emergency reserve barrels from the US Gulf Coast.

About 460,000 barrels of Bayou Choctaw Sweet crude were delivered to Chevron's (CVX) Richmond refinery and another 50,000 barrels to the energy major's El Segundo facility in California, Kpler said, citing bills of lading.

After loading nearly 980,000 barrels of Bayou Choctaw Sweet crude in Louisiana, tanker Red Moon discharged the cargo at Panama's Atlantic Terminal earlier in May, according to Kpler.

A 131-kilometer pipeline then moved the crude across Panama to the Pacific Terminal on the west coast, where Chevron-chartered supertanker Pascagoula Voyager loaded roughly 2 million barrels for delivery to the US West Coast.

According to Kpler, Pascagoula Voyager also carried Guyana's Unity Gold crude before smaller vessels transferred the strategic reserve barrels onward to California refineries along the Pacific Coast.

Chevron did not immediately respond to' request for comment.

(Market Chatter news is derived from conversations with market professionals globally. This information is believed to be from reliable sources but may include rumor and speculation. Accuracy is not guaranteed.)

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