LONDON: Russian Urals crude was firmer in the Baltic on Thursday, supported by strong refining profits and rumours some plants may delay spring maintenance programmes to capture the bigger margins.
Prices weakened in the Mediterranean, dropping back to a discount to dated Brent, but they remain stronger than in the Baltic due to a shorter loading programme this month. In the Platts trading window, BP bid for a cargo of Urals in the Baltic at dated Brent minus $1.45 a barrel, about 30 cents stronger than previous assessments.
In the Mediterranean, Vitol offered an Aframax cargo at dated Brent minus 60 cents, down from a small premium to dated Brent when it was last bid on Friday.
Swaps this week have indicated that the gap between Mediterranean and Baltic cargoes will narrow slightly over the month, though traders continue to eye a shorter loading programme from the south.
For the balance of February the Baltic swap was around minus $1.25 a barrel on Thursday and at minus 65 cents in the Mediterranean.
Urals has been supported in the Mediterranean by delays with tanker passage through the Bosphorus as well as fears that Iraqi Kirkuk supplies could be disrupted again by fighting.
Strong refining margins, which have averaged around $5.40 in the Mediterranean for those cracking Urals in the past week, have also helped. The average over the previous year was closer to $2.60, according to Reuters models.
Traders said some plants may delay turnarounds to capture the higher margins, increasing demand for crude in the spring when consumption normally falls.
Lighter grades in the Mediterranean have also been supported, with Azeri heard discussed this week almost $3 a barrel above dated Brent, while Kazakhstan's CPC Blend has been seen around 50 cents above dated. No deals, bids or offers were seen on Thursday.
Concerns over Libyan supplies have kept the light-sweet market supported.
An attack by gunmen on the Mabrook oilfield on Tuesday had not affected Libya's crude production, the oil minister of a rival government said on Thursday.
Mashallah Zwai said the attackers had killed nine Libyan members of an oil security guard unit and one foreigner during the raid on the field located south of the central city of Sirte.
Three Filipinos working for an Italian company were missing.
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