SINGAPORE: Spot differentials for Russia's ESPO blend came under pressure in the Middle East crude oil market due to weak appetite from Asian refiners, traders said on Wednesday.
ESPO for February loading was traded as low as $1.80-$1.90 a barrel above Dubai quotes, traders said, down from premiums of around $3 a barrel earlier this month.
Rosneft sold three 730,000-barrel cargoes due to load in February in a tender at a premium of $2-$3 a barrel, the traders said.
Two other cargoes, that were initially included in the tender, were re-tendered and eventually fetched premiums of below $2 a barrel, they said. The buyers were not known, and the deals could not be independently verified.
MARKET NEWS
The Obama administration on Tuesday bowed to months of growing pressure over a 40-year-old ban on exports of most domestic crude, taking two steps expected to unleash a wave of ultra-light shale oil onto global markets.
A fire raging for almost a week at Libya's biggest oil port of Es Sider has destroyed up to 1.8 million barrels of crude and damaged seven storage tanks, causing total damage of $213 million, a top oil official said on Tuesday.
OPEC's oil supply fell by 270,000 barrels per day (bpd) in December to a six-month low as fighting cut Libyan output,
offsetting record Iraqi southern exports and stable Saudi Arabian production, a Reuters survey found.
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