Med Crude: Urals steady, underpinned by Med delays

LONDON: Russian Urals crude was steady in the Baltic and Mediterranean on Friday, supported by loading delays for rival grades and strong refining margins.

In the Platts price assessment window Vitol offered a cargo at parity to dated Brent, before withdrawing, leaving differentials only 5 cents lower. No bids or offers were seen in Urals, leaving it around $0.95 below the benchmark.

Traders said the Mediterranean has been supported by a series of loading delays for rival grades that normally flow from the Middle East to the region.

Egypt's Sidi Kerir terminal has not been loading in recent days, three trade sources said on Friday, as a sandstorm disrupted operations. Kuwait's oil exports were completely halted on Thursday by the same sandstorm, though it has since resumed loading.

The delays added to a sharp drop in supplies from Iraq, where exports from the southern terminals have averaged less than 1.5 million barrels per day for the first ten days of this month, well below the record 2.76 million bpd in December.

Traders noted that Urals has risen closer than usual to Forties crude in the North Sea, suggesting that some refiners could soon switch to the lighter grade. Traders were also eyeing the preliminary Urals loading plan for the first days of March.

Plants cracking Urals in the Mediterranean stood to make almost $7 a barrel over the past five days, according to Reuters models, more than double the level for the past year. Margins dipped on Friday, however, as benchmark Brent futures rose above $60 a barrel for the first time this year.

Venezuela's state-run oil company PDVSA launched a tender to buy one or two cargoes of Russia's Urals crude for delivery March 10-31 at Bullenbay terminal in the Caribbean island of Curacao, according to a document seen by Reuters on Thursday.

PDVSA started buying Urals crude in November for its 335,000 barrel per day (bpd) Isla refinery in Curacao. Last month it offered to buy a similar cargo on the open market, due to be unloaded next week. The new tender closes Feb. 18 and specified that the oil must come from the Primorsk terminal.