Cargoes diverted as Latin America competes for fuel in Harvey's wake

New York

TRADERS and shipbrokers are rerouting millions of barrels of fuel to Latin America to compensate for broken supply lines after Hurricane Harvey crippled the US Gulf of Mexico refining hub.

Buyers from Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, Argentina and elsewhere are turning to refineries in Europe, Asia and even the US East Coast in a rush to replace more than 2.5 million barrels per day (bpd) of fuel imports.

Roughly one quarter of US refining capacity, a total of some 4.4 million bpd, was shuttered over the past week as Harvey battered Tex…