LONDON: North Sea Forties crude differentials rose on Monday, rebounding from a decline at the end of last week as three buyers bid for cargoes while sellers remained on the sidelines.
The pickup in buying interest came as refining margins widened. One trading source said it might be the result of an effort to put together a VLCC for shipment to Asia.
Shipments of North Sea crude out of the region tend to boost prices. However, there was no evidence on Monday of any Forties shipment to Asia or of an attempt to build one.
While Forties output is currently strong, Libyan supply is facing renewed difficulties as a major oilfield, El Sharara, stopped pumping due to a new protest.
FORTIES:
Unipec, Total and BP were looking for cargoes in the Platts window.
By the end of the window, Unipec was bidding for a cargo loading on April 11-13 at dated Brent plus 40 cents. That was up from trades at dated Brent plus 25 cents and plus 15 cents on Friday.
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