SINGAPORE: Exports of sweet crudes and condensate from Australia, Papua New Guinea and East Timor will fall in January, as maintenance will affect production of heavy grades, traders said on Thursday.
A total of at least 14 cargoes of sweet crudes and condensate will be available for loading in January, down from 17 in December.
Maintenance at the Apache-operated Van Gogh oil field off Australia's west coast would undergo maintenance lasting six month, which could support spot premiums for heavy sweet crudes in the region.
The number of Pyrenees cargoes will be unchanged from December, with Apache likely to have already sold its cargo for early January loading, while BHP Billiton will load a second cargo.
One cargo of Vincent crude will be available, according to a preliminary schedule for January.
However, the number of cargoes could rise as one cargo from the December window was still unsold, while traders also were uncertain of the actual production levels after field maintenance from January to October.
Maintenance is also planned at Enfield, but little detail was available.
No Enfield cargoes were scheduled for January with the next cargo planned for loading in February, traders said.
Condensate supply is set to rise by one in January, with four cargoes of North West Shelf condensate available, steady from the previous month. BHP Billiton has already sold one cargo to Samsung Total Petrochemicals at about $2 below dated Brent.
One cargo of Kitan condensate will be loaded, but traders said it was likely committed to a Chinese buyer on term basis and would not be available on the spot market.
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