SINGAPORE, Feb 10 (Reuters) - The sweet crude market
in Asia was firm on Friday, with Russian Sokol sold at higher
premiums over the previous month on strong middle distillate
cracks, traders said.
One cargo of March ESPO crude was also heard transacted at a
premium of around $6 to Dubai quotes, steady to earlier deals,
they added.
Trading activity in April-lifting regional crudes is
expected to kick-off next week.
* TENDERS
- Indian state-run explorer Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC)
sold the 700,000-barrel Sokol cargo to load on April 11-14 to
European trader Vitol at a premium of around $8.20-$8.50 a
barrel to Oman/Dubai quotes, traders said on Friday. This could
not be confirmed.
ONGC previously sold a Sokol cargo for February-March loading
at a premium of just over $8 a barrel to Oman/Dubai quotes.
* EFS
- Front-month Brent/Dubai Exchange of Futures for Swaps
(EFS) for March DUB-EFS-1M fell 34 cents to $3.05 a barrel.
* MARKET NEWS
- China's crude oil imports in January marked the third
highest level on record, up 7.4 percent from a year earlier to
5.51 million barrels per day (bpd), customs data showed on
Friday, as refineries ramped up to ensure supply ahead of a
holiday season.
- Global oil demand will grow by less than 1 percent in
2012, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Friday,
cutting its oil growth demand forecast for a sixth consecutive
month due to a weak global economy.
- South Sudan is considering building an oil pipeline
through Ethiopia and Djibouti, officials said on Thursday, weeks
after the new country shut down crude production in a row over
export transit fees with Sudan.
* REFINERY MARGINS
- The complex refining margin for Dubai in Singapore was
$9.55 per barrel, down from an average of the last five days of
$10.13, Reuters data show. Over the last year, the average
margin has been $8.14 cents per barrel.
* CRACK SPREADS
- Fuel oil's March crack fell 21 cents to a discount of
$3.05 a barrel to Dubai crude.
- Gasoil's March crack eased 48 cents to a premium of $17.71
barrel to Dubai crude.
- Naphtha's front-month crack gained 54 cents to a discount
of $5.51 barrel to Brent crude.
* OUTRIGHT PRICES
- March ICE Brent was at $117.79 a barrel by 0830
GMT, up 20 cents from the previous session.
