Russian Urals oil grade was
unchanged on Monday as traders said a recovery in refining
margins and problems with exports of other grades including from
Iraq arrested a decline in values.
"The Med is quite strong and it is supporting Urals in the
Baltic too. Plus you have problems with (Iraqi) Kirkuk exports,"
a trader with a major said.
In the Platts window, Litasco offered a prompt Aug 2-6 Urals
cargo from the Baltic at dated Brent minus 30 cents but found no
buyers, traders said. In tender news, Repsol was believed to
have won both cargoes by Surgut from Primorsk for loading in the
first 10 days of August, traders said.
Firefighters in southeast Turkey on Saturday put out a fire
on a pipeline carrying about a quarter of Iraq's oil exports,
blaming sabotage by Kurdish separatists for the explosion on the
Kirkuk-Ceyhan line.
The suspension added to problems around Kirkuk, whose flows
have been thinner over the past months.
Ceyhan will undergo planned maintenance at the Botas
Terminal, from which Iraqi Kirkuk is exported, according to a
shipping source.
All berthing will be suspended during July 23-27, adding to
the hefty 20-day delay already plaguing lifters of Iraqi Kirkuk.
Kirkuk loading for the first 18 days of July fell short of
expectations, dropping to around 272,000 barrels per day,
compared to 399,000 bpd as suggested by a loading programme
finalised in late June.
Light grade continued to strengthen, traders say, assessing
Azeri Light at stronger than plus $3 to dated Brent and CPC at
around flat.
"CPC had to return to normal levels at some point. Some of
Petroplus refineries have resumed operations so demand is slowly
recovering," the trader with a major said.
A major trader in Azeri Light said he believed the grade had
the potential to strengthen further as it had underperformed the
recent recovery of rival grades.
Also supporting light grades, Libyan crude for August was
believed to be sold out with only one or two cargoes left, one
trader said.
Es Sider has been trading at around dated Brent minus $1.20,
a premium to the August official selling price of dated Brent
minus $1.30.