Med crude-Urals diffs steady, margins improve

MOSCOW: Urals crude oil differentials to dated Brent were stable on Wednesday as trading activity was low, but improving refining margins could give some support to the grade, traders said.

Urals refining margins in the Mediterranean were at $3.31 per barrel compared to an average of $1.51 per barrel over the recent 15 days.

Urals loading dates for the first half of July were expected to be released by the end of the week, traders said.

PLATTS WINDOW

In the Platts window Gunvor bid for Urals cargo for loading from Primorsk or Ust-Luga on July 4-8 at dated Brent minus $1.75 per barrel, at which level Shell agreed to sell a cargo - in line with the recent estimates of the grade.

There were no bids or offers for Urals loading from the Black Sea's Novorossiisk, CPC Blend or Azeri BTC crude oil in the Platts window on Wednesday.

NEWS

French oil and gas major Total aims to complete repair works on the PLIF pipeline and restart its 102,000 barrels-per day Grandpuits refinery by mid-July, company documents show.