Urals edge lower on weak demand

LONDON: Spot differentials on Russia's medium sour Urals weakened on Wednesday on the back of weak margins and refinery maintenance.

But traders said the market was slow due to a lack of direction to what degree seasonal European refinery maintenance would compensate for sour crude supply uncertainties.

Iraqi oil exports from the Basra Oil Terminal are being watched for disruptions due to a port upgrade while the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline has constantly had problems.

One trader pointed out that it was also unclear how Russia's October Urals exports would be divided between the north and south.

Adding to this, Russia's top oil producer Rosneft continued to leave traders in the dark as to who the confirmed winners would be in its major bi-annual Urals sell tender.

In the Platts window, Total offered an 80,000-tonne Urals cargo down to dated Brent minus 10 cents cif Augusta loading Sept 26-30.

Lukoil offered a Urals cargo in Northwest Europe down to dated Brent minus 95 cents cif Rotterdam loading Sept 23-27.

There was no substantial change to the status of Libya's oilfields and ports crippled by various protests groups, trading and shipping sources said on Wednesday.

The Hellas Warrior left Libya after waiting to load crude oil at the Marsa al Hariga terminal since mid-August, the ship operator said. The Sonangol Namibie tanker was still in the Hariga area, Reuters AIS Live ship tracking showed.

When the first drops of oil began trickling from the world's most expensive oilfield on Wednesday, investors in the mammoth Kashagan Caspian Sea project sighed in relief, but they have little chance of earning back their billions any time soon.

Running a decade behind the initial schedules and with spending estimated at $50 billion, the project still has no firm production outlook and therefore no estimates of how and when global majors will recoup the huge costs and generate profits.