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While Mexico has been a regular supplier of Maya oil to U.S. Gulf Coast refineries, it hasn't shipped any to the West Coast since February 2008, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. California refineries such as Valero Energy Corp.'s Benicia, Chevron Corp.'s El Segundo and Phillips 66 used to be big buyers of the grade.

Petroleos Mexicanos, the state-controlled oil producer, took the first step in making Maya exports to the West Coast a reality Tuesday by issuing an official price for November sales. Earlier in the day, Pemex said on its official Twitter account that it was planning to resume shipments to the region.

With stronger margins in the U.S., Pemex's move to restart Maya exports to the West Coast allows the company to capture a higher value for the crude compared to Europe and Asia,â€Â Ixchel Castro, a senior analyst for Latin American oils and refining markets at Wood Mackenzie in Mexico City, said in an e-mail. The exports halted at a time when margins in Asia were stronger, she said.

The company's oil trading arm, known as PMI, set the differential to sell Maya into the West Coast at $3.70 a barrel below the price of a basket of crudes and fuel oil prices for the region. The differential, known as the K factor, compares with minus $12.65 a barrel in January 2008, the last one issued, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The official selling price for different parts of the world is determined using a regional basket of oils as a benchmark. Maya's discount to the Asian basket is $10.80 for November.

Facing more competition

Mexico is facing increasing competition in Asia from rising production in places like Saudi Arabia and Iran,†Gurpal Dosanjh, a Bloomberg Intelligence analyst said in an interview Tuesday. With a big refinery maintenance season coming up on the U.S. Gulf Coast, it makes sense for them to try to pursue the West Coast once again.â€
Pemex is looking for new destinations for its crude as exports rose to 1.26 million barrels of oil daily in August, the highest in 10 months, according to data from the Mexico Energy Information Agency. Shipments increased as low refinery utilization rates freed more supplies for international markets, John Galante, a senior analyst at Boston-based ESAI Energy, said in a telephone interview. Refinery utilization rates at Pemex's six refineries slid to 51 percent in August. That compares with an 88.3 percent U.S. uti...