Mexico's Pemex to begin exporting oil to Hawaii in July

Mexico City, May 9 (EFE).- Mexican state-owned oil giant Petroleos Mexicanos said it will export crude to the U.S. state of Hawaii for the first time and that the initial shipment will be delivered in July.

PMI Comercio Internacional, Pemex's international trading arm, signed the agreement for the first shipment of light crude, which will be sent by tanker in the first week of July to one of Hawaii's main refineries, the company said in a statement.

Pemex said the deal is part of plan launched four years ago to diversify its export markets.

"By expanding the destinations for this light crude, the company reaffirms its determination to fulfill the objectives of its commercial strategy focused" on shipping Mexican oil to alternative markets, it added.

Pemex said the price of the Isthmus crude to be exported to Hawaii will be calculated using the formula authorized by Mexico's Finance and Public Credit Secretariat.

The majority of Mexican crude shipped to the United States - by far the biggest market for the country's oil exports - is Maya blend, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Mexico retains most of the output from its lighter crude streams - Isthmus and Olmeca - for domestic consumption, the EIA says.

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