A tanker has been fixed to carry 30,000 tonnes of gas oil from Singapore to the US West Coast, scheduled for loading tomorrow, in what is seen as a possible arbitrage shipment to quake-hit Chile, traders and ship brokers said today.

The vessel — Nord Nightingale — is said to have been chartered by European trader Vitol for US$1.2 million ($1.7 million).

“Yes, the economics are workable to carry gas oil from Singapore to the US West Coast, in anticipation of a possible spike in demand from Chile if its refineries are still down or not operating at optimum capacity," said a distillates trader with a European firm.

“It’s quicker to ship the product from US West Coast to Chile if the need arises.”

Chilean Mining Minister Santiago Gonzalez told Thomson Reuters yesterday the country's top 116,000 barrel-per-day oil refinery could be down "for a maximum of a month", due to quake damage.