Kinder Morgan's Westridge Marine Terminal that exports crude oil is pictured in Burnaby, B.C., on Wednesday February 19, 2014, as seen from a National Aerial Surveillance Program flight.DARRYL DYCK/The Canadian Press
The commodities arm of Brazil's largest independent investment bank plans to join a widening roster of global firms trading Canadian crude oil, at least on a short-term basis.
BTG Pactual Commodities (US) LLC has applied to the National Energy Board to export Canadian light and heavy crude oil volumes through the end of this year, according to filings.
The company is a unit of São Paulo-based BTG Pactual Group, the multinational financial services company that been building up its commodity trading business in recent years.
The company did not disclose its long-term plans for the Canadian crude market, which has been expanding along with the industry's aims to get oil such as Western Canadian Select heavy blend and oil sands-derived light synthetic to more markets in the United States and other countries.
Nick Brewer, the London-based chief operating officer for BTG Pactual Commodities, did not answer an e-mail seeking details of the firm's plans for energy trading in Canada.
The request for a short-term licence suggests BTG Pactual, whose U.S. energy group is based in Stamford, Conn., may be testing the market.
As a new entrant, it would join Citigroup Inc., which according to a Reuters report last month is setting up shop in Calgary to trade physical crude of all grades. The NEB granted Citigroup a similar short-term export licence in January.
Following the release of quarterly financial results in May, BTG Pactual Chief Executive André Esteves told analysts that he expects profit at the bank's commodities sales and trading business, which concentrates on energy, grains and metals, to rise over the next few quarters.
Jeffrey Jones