LONDON: North Sea crude differentials remained under pressure on Thursday as refinery buyers stayed away and no new VLCC fixtures to take oil out of the region emerged.
Demand from European refiners has been weak so far this year, despite strong refining margins.
A Rotterdam-based refiner cracking Brent was at about $8.46 a barrel on Thursday, according to Reuters' models, up from an average of $5.39 a barrel in December.
Data from industry monitor Euroilstock showed that European refinery crude processing declined slightly from November, but was up 6.6 percent year-on-year, as refiners took advantage of cheap crude feedstock last year.
However, traders expressed concern that refinery buying was currently pretty lacklustre, even before they head into seasonal turnarounds. "February demand doesn't seem great," one said.
"We will enter maintenance before the market can be expected to gain equilibrium, and with less storage flexibility than usual," another market participant said.
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