Urals and Caspian crude oil differentials were steady on Wednesday in trade thinned by public holidays in Russia and Kazakhstan as well as loading delays for CPC Blend.
The Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) terminal near the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiysk resumed crude loadings on Monday from SPM-1, with SPM-3 now expected to return from maintenance in mid-January, two sources told Reuters on Tuesday.
SPM-2 remains offline after a Ukrainian drone strike in late November.
Talks on trading CPC Blend crude have stalled because of the loading delays, three traders told Reuters this week. Loading issues could prompt some refiners to use substitute regional grades, one trader said.
No bids or offers were reported to Reuters from the Platts window on Wednesday for Urals, Azeri BTC and CPC Blend.
The US seized a Russian-flagged oil tanker that was being shadowed by a Russian submarine on Wednesday after pursuing it for more than two weeks across the Atlantic as part of Washington's efforts to block Venezuelan oil exports, US officials said.
The Iraqi cabinet has granted approval for state-run Basra Oil company (BOC) to manage petroleum operations in the West Qurna 2 oilfield, in accordance with provisions of a service contract signed with Russia's Lukoil, the government said in a statement.
The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries said on Wednesday that it had received updated plans from Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kazakhstan and Oman on their plans to compensate for oversupply.
(Reporting by Robert Harvey; Editing by David Goodman)
