Many refners have yet to be fully won round to the idea of taking newly returned Libyan crude, helping to boost competing grades. Light sweet crude prices are frming in the Atlantic basin, despite the return of over 1mn b/d of Libyan output. Grades such as Caspian BTC Blend, Nigerian Bonny Light, US WTI and Algerian Saharan Blend are trading around $1/bl higher against benchmark North Sea Dated than they were nearly two months ago (see graph). But the rise in values is not universal and sourer streams, such as North Sea Forties or Kazakh CPC Blend, have fallen slightly over the past two months. Increased demand from India is partly behind the higher values. But some refners appear reluctant to take Libyan cargoes because of concerns over the potential for further disruption in the country.
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