LONDON: Russian Urals crude prices in the Mediterranean strengthened slightly on Tuesday as traders said the final loading plan for September looked lower than expected in the south and tight for the first part of September in the Baltic.
In the Platts window, Litasco bid for a 80,000-tonne Aframax tanker in the Mediterranean at dated Brent minus $1.05 a barrel, some 5 cents stronger than previous price estimates, but found no sellers, traders said.
Russia is set to boost its seaborne Urals crude blend exports by 15 percent in September from August, a preliminary programme showed on Tuesday, as refineries embark on scheduled maintenance.
Supplies of Urals from the Baltic Sea port of Primorsk are set at 3.5 million tonnes next month, compared to 3.3 million tonnes scheduled for August.
Traders said exports from Primorsk will be thin in the first half of September, when 1.4 million tonnes will be shipped due to a halt in loadings on Sept. 9-11. The reason for the stoppage was not immediately clear.
The second half of the month would see 2.1 million tonnes being handled, they said. "The schedule in the north is a bit bullish for the beginning of the month," said one trader.
The neighbouring port of Ust-Luga is set to load 2.2 million tonnes next month, up from 1.9 million this month thanks to an increase in Rosneft exports by 220,000 tonnes to 900,000 tonnes.
Urals exports from the Black Sea port of Novorossiisk are expected to increase to 2.264 million tonnes from 1.941 million in August. However, one loading slot for 140,000 tonnes for Aug. 21-22 has yet to be allocated. For Sept loading plan click on
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