Ecuador’s heavy Napo crude differential plunged almost 82% on the day to the widest discount on record on Feb. 6 based on public tender results, a move traders attributed to increased competition from Venezuelan and Canadian barrels.

Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, assessed Napo crude at a discount of $15.90/barrel to the Latin American WTI strip Feb. 6, widening by $7.15/b, or almost 82%, on the day to the largest discount since the launch of its assessment on Feb. 9, 2021.

State-run oil company Petroecuador awarded its sales tender for Napo crude to Unipec and PetroChina earlier on Feb. 6.

Unipec purchased 1.44 million barrels of Napo crude to load March 27-30 and April 21-24 at a discount of $15/b to NYMEX West Texas Intermediate crude, as well as another 720,000 barrels to load April 27-30 at a discount $16/b. PetroChina purchased a 2.88 million barrel cargo of Napo to load March 10-19 and April 11-20 at minus $16.50/b to NYMEX WTI.

Napo crude has a sulfur content of 2.15%-2.35 % and an API of 16-18.

“I believe the tender results reflect the market demand,” a trader said. “Napo will compete with Venezuela and TMX cargoes.”

The price fallout from Trump’s military action in Venezuela on Jan. 3 and the prospect of increased crude flows from the Latin American producer are only now starting to materialize in the Latin American crude market. Participants said that Venezuelan barrels were starting to move prices on the US Gulf Coast and in Asia, with India potentially materializing as a buyer.

Colombian crude differentials also weakened in the wake of the disruptions.

Platts assessed Vasconia at a discount of $7.80/b to the Latin American Brent Futures strip on Feb. 6, widening $1.35/b to its largest discount since Feb. 23, 2023. Colombia’s Vasconia and Castilla differentials had previously hit multi-year lows on Feb. 3.

“Demand is poor, and freight is very high,” one market player said of the falling Colombian differentials.

Differentials on Canada’s West Coast have also come under pressure as more Venezuelan barrels have entered the market. Platts assessed Pacific Cold Lake at Westridge, Vancouver at a $11.75/b discount to the ICE Brent CMA on Feb. 6, widening by $1/b on the day to the largest discount since it stood at a $12.15/b discount to ICE Brent on Aug. 12, 2024.

Pacific Cold Lake’s differential has slid steadily since Platts assessed it at a $8.55/b discount to the ICE Brent CMA on Jan. 2. The differential has been trending lower since October 2025, with Pacific Cold Lake having stood at a $5.50/b discount to the WTI CMA on Oct. 8, 2025, the most narrow spread in five months at the time.

Crude market players credited the weakness to both an increase in Venezuelan barrels coming to the market and to geopolitical uncertainty.
“News of more Venezuelan barrels going to India, and a further weakening of heavies on the USGC, is doomed to hit Canada and TMX as well,” a second trader said. “I think we have a bit of a gap to understand how to reorganize flows while geopolitics are still unclear on who will have access to these barrels.”
Source: Platts