LONDON: The differential for Forties crude jumped on Thursday for end-August loading cargoes as the prospect of September field maintenance began to sink in.
Cheap freight means that traders holding Forties in VLCCs off the UK coast are in no hurry to sell.
Forties had not traded since last week and was subsequently offered down to as low as dated Brent minus 75 cents a barrel on Friday.
The differential for the Brent grade fell, reflecting the still long market, which has led to a significant uptick in the number and variety of North Sea cargoes heading to the Mediterranean.
A region that previously only received about one cargo of North Sea crude a month, Reuters data showed.
At least three August loading cargoes will go to Mediterranean refineries, according to ship tracking and traders.
Several cargoes of Brent and Ekofisk went south in July. Greece's Motoroil Hellas took an unusual cargo of Forties and Italy's Sarroch refinery took a cargo of Troll.
WINDOW SUMMARY
Statoil sold a cargo of Brent to Exxon at dated Brent minus 45 cents a barrel loading Aug 28-30.
Unipec sold a cargo of Forties to Shell at dated Brent minus 30 cents a barrel loading Aug 29-31.
Vitol offered a cargo of Forties via ship-to-ship transfer from the Ligovsky Prospect at dated Brent minus 25 cents a barrel loading Aug. 26-31, down 5 cents from Wednesday.
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