Med crude-Urals diffs stable, Azeri BTC premiums jump

MOSCOW: Urals differentials were stable on Wednesday as April trading has slowed down, while premiums for May Azeri BTC crude oil cargoes jumped to four-months highs on good demand for the grade.

Urals crude oil cargoes loading in April were mostly placed, with several cargoes loading in the last 10 days of the month remaining unsold in the Baltic after additions to the loading plan were made earlier this week.

Refiners' demand for Urals April crude oil volumes eased, and trade was slow as sellers did not want to sell remaining cargoes much cheaper than last week's trades.

In the Platts window Glencore offered 100,000 tonnes of Urals for loading from Baltic ports on April 23-27 at dated Brent plus $0.45 a barrel, but failed to find a buyer and withdrew. The offer was some 35 cents a barrel firmer than recent estimates.

Azeri BTC premiums jumped against dated Brent on Wednesday on fresh demand for May-loading cargoes.

In the Platts window Rosneft Trading bid for 650,000 barrels of the grade at dated Brent plus $3.05 a barrel, but failed to find a seller, though the bid was 60 cents a barrel firmer than recent estimates and the highest level since Nov. 30 last year, according to Refinitiv Eikon data.

There were no bids or offers for Urals loading from the Black Sea's Novorossiisk or CPC Blend crude oil in the Platts window on Wednesday.