MOSCOW: Urals crude differentials in the Mediterranean and northwest Europe were little changed on Thursday in the abcence of buyers and sellers in the afternoon trading session.
High prices for Russa's key export blend has resulted in lower refinery margins, Reuters' model showed. Complex oil plants cracking Urals in the Mediterranean region stood to make a profit of $3.86 a barrel over the past five days. Over the past 15 days the figure was $6.07 a barrel.
The arbitrage window for Urals to Asia has closed after the Brent-Dubai spread widened <DUB-EFS-1M>, traders said. Brent's premium to Dubai swaps was about $3.35 a barrel for November, making Brant-linked grades expensive for Asian customers.
There were no bids or offers for Urals, Azeri BTC, CPC Blend and Siberian Light in the Platts window on Thursday.
Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) plans to suspend CPC Blend crude oil loadings for three days in October because of repair work, two industry sources told Reuters, citing a CPC note sent to exporters.
Traders expect to see the Azeri BCT loading plan for October on Friday.
US crude stockpiles fell more than expected last week, while gasoline and distillate inventories rose, the Energy Information Administration said on Thursday.
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