Med crude-Urals oil diffs stable, prices for Caspian oil grades have soared

Equus Mining

30/08/2024 18:50

MOSCOW, Aug 30 (Reuters) - Urals crude oil differentials
kept stable on Friday, while prices for Caspian oil grades have
soared this week, as traders look for alternatives in an
increasingly tight market following the suspension of oil
production in Libya.
    Libya's National Oil Corporation said on Friday that recent
oilfield closures have caused the loss of approximately 63% of
the country's total oil production, as a conflict between rival
eastern and western factions continues.                         
    Discounts for Kazakh CPC Blend narrowed to less than 30
cents per barrel to dated Brent, the traders said. The grade
normally trades at wider discount to the benchmark, reaching
close to minus $2 per barrel earlier this month.
    Two of the traders said that there were several offers of
CPC Blend oil cargoes at a premium to dated Brent, but no deals
have yet been heard at such levels.
    Premiums for Azeri BTC firmed above $4 per barrel and were
moving towards $4.50 from around $2 per barrel early this month,
the traders said.
    
    PLATTS WINDOW
    * There were no bids or offers for Urals, Azeri BTC or CPC
Blend
in the Platts window on Friday.

    NEWS
    * Ukraine will continue to meet its obligations to transit
Russian
oil to Europe, a presidential aide said on Friday after earlier
suggesting it could halt supplies via the Druzhba pipeline next
year.


 (Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Louise Heavens)