Urals crude differentials to dated Brent were stable on Thursday, while CPC Blend differentials widened further to one-year lows amid supply overhang.

CPC Blend sellers had to place most of their February cargoes in Europe due to high costs for shipping to Asia and offered wider discounts for buyers to place cargoes locally.

The discount widened to $4.25 per barrel in a deal – the widest level since January 2023, according to LSEG data.

Russian oil suppliers have resumed Urals ship-to-ship (STS) operations in the Mediterranean after a six-month pause, data showed, trying to address tanker shortages, traders said.

Azerbaijan’s state oil company SOCAR is shipping Azeri BTC oil to Thailand via Africa’s Cape of Good Hope to avoid the Red Sea, according to LSEG and Kpler data and traders.

PLATTS WINDOW

Gunvor sold 88,000 metric tons of CPC Blend loading on Feb. 22-27 at dated Brent minus $4.25 to Italy’s Eni, traders said.

There were no bids or offers for Azeri BTC or Urals oil in the Platts window on Friday.

NEWS

BP BP.L on Friday named Kate Thomson as its permanent chief financial officer with immediate effect, completing a leadership reshuffle following Bernard Looney’s abrupt resignation as CEO in September.

Venezuela’s exports of crude and refined products fell by 25% in January to some 624,000 barrels per day (bpd) as power outages hit the main oil export terminal, according to vessel tracking data and internal documents from state oil firm PDVSA.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)