LONDON: North Sea Forties crude differentials held steady on Thursday, helped by strong Russian Urals crude prices and continued buying interest.
Urals is at 11-month highs in the Mediterranean , which should encourage some switching by refiners to Forties, as well as helping to underpin Forties differentials.
"Urals is so strong that Forties will have to move higher," a trader said. Analysts at JBC Energy noted that seaborne Urals exports are expected to hit multi-year lows in July. Volumes are currently estimated some 400,000 barrels-per-day (bpd) lower year-on-year.
Meanwhile, output from Britain's Buzzard oilfield is back up at around 207,000 bpd following last week's maintenance , trade sources said.
Traders are currently awaiting the release of the August loading programmes, with the Forties programme expected to emerge on Friday.
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