Prices for Caspian oil grades jump fuelled by Libyan output outages

Equus Mining

30/08/2024 14:10

MOSCOW/LONDON, Aug 30 (Reuters) - Prices for Caspian oil
grades have soared in the Mediterranean market this week, as
traders look for alternatives in an increasingly tight market
following the suspension of oil production in Libya, five
traders told Reuters.
    Libya's oil blockade started earlier this week amid a
conflict between eastern and western authorities over the
replacement of the central bank governor.
    The absence of Libyan supply has supported prices of Caspian
barrels, which are of a similar quality.  
    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.
    CPC Blend light oil is mostly sourced by Kazakh oil
producers and loaded from Russia's Black Sea port of Yuzhnaya
Ozereyevka. 
    Azeri BTC is mostly sourced from Azerbaijan's oil fields and
 supplied via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline for loading
at Turkey's Ceyhan port. 
    CPC Blend differentials are also supported by the
expectation of lower than normal exports of the grade during the
autumn months due to planned maintenance at the giant Kashagan
oil field.
    CPC Blend exports will reach around 1.3 million barrels per
day (bpd) in September, three trade sources familiar with the
matter told Reuters, but could decline in October. 


 (Reporting by Reuters in Moscow and Robert Harvey in LONDON;
Editing by Kirsten Donovan)