Med crude-Urals drops to 8-month lows in Med, firm in Baltic

MOSCOW: Urals crude oil differentials eased further in Mediterranean against dated Brent on Tuesday, while in northwest Europe the grade was supported by fresh demand.

Urals differentials for 80,000-tonne cargoes loading from Black Sea's Novorossiisk reached their widest discount to dated Brent since November 2018 as sellers struggled to place prompt cargoes, Reuters data showed.

Traders said that demand for June cargoes of Urals was lower due to availability of alternatives and as refiners switched their attention to July cargoes.

First July loading dates for Urals crude oil are expected to be released later this week.

PLATTS WINDOW

* In Mediterranean, Litasco offered 80,000 tonnes of Urals crude oil loading from Novorossiisk on June 21-25 at dated Brent minus $1.40 a barrel, about $0.20 per barrel weaker than the previous estimates, but failed to find a buyer.

* In northwest Europe, Vitol sold 100,000 tonnes of Urals crude oil loading from Primorsk port on June 22-26 to Gunvor at dated Brent minus $1.75 a barrel, some 20 cents firmer than the level of recent deals.

* Trading firm Petraco offered 100,000 tonnes of Urals loading from Primorsk on June 22-26 at dated Brent minus $1.55 a barrel, but failed to find a buyer.

* Glencore offered 80,000 tonnes of Siberian Light loading from Novorossiisk on June 21-25 at dated Brent plus $0.30 a barrel, but failed to place the cargo.

* There were no bids or offers for Azeri BTC or CPC Blend in the Platts window.

NEWS

* Trading house Trafigura's six-month net profit jumped by 92% after a strong performance from its oil and gas desks helped to offset weakness at the metals division and losses at key associates.

* BP has raised estimates for Saudi Arabia's crude oil reserves by 12%, marking the first major change to the country's estimated reserves since 1989.