MOSCOW: Russian Urals crude weakened further on Wednesday to its lowest since mid-May after Russia ordered a supply cut to Belarus, which could lead to higher Urals exports from seaports.
In the Platts window, Total bought a mid-September cargo from Shell in the Baltic at dated Brent minus 80 cents, some 20 cents weaker than prices earlier this week.
"The order to cut supplies to Belarus was unexpected. So people are now desperately trying to reroute crude somewhere else," a trader with a Russian company said.
Russian pipeline monopoly Transneft ordered oil firms to cut supplies to Belarus by around a quarter or 400,000 tonnes, in a major escalation of a trade and diplomatic dispute following the arrest in Minsk of the boss of Russian potash firm.
Russian refineries are undergoing major maintenance in September, which means supplies previously destined for Belarus would have to be rerouted towards export markets.
Loading programmes from the world's largest oil producer have already shown a substantial increase in supplies in September.
Iraqi Kirkuk oil flows to the port of Ceyhan stopped again on Wednesday evening due to technical problems, a shipping source said. They briefly resumed earlier in the day.
Iraq expects exports of crude from its southern terminals to fall in September due to maintenance, according to a preliminary loading schedule, although the decline in Basra exports appears to be less than initially thought.
Libya is seeking a peaceful way to end oil strikes that have crippled its crude exports but will take alternative action if needed, Prime Minister Ali Zeidan said on Wednesday.
He said oil production has fallen to around 250,000 barrels per day, about a fifth of the highs reached since its 2011 civil war, due to a month-long disruption by armed security guards who shut the country's main export ports.
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