Russia's Urals oil discount up $0.2, ESPO down $1.2/bbl in March - Argus

MOSCOW. Feb 17 (Interfax) - The price of Urals oil FOB ranged from $56 to $56.9 per barrel in the first half of March, compared to $59.9-$60.8 per barrel in February, with discounts to the benchmark North Sea Dated (NSD, including Brent, Forties, Oseberg, Ekofisk and Troll, as well as the U.S. Midland WTI) standing at $14.5-$15.5 compared to $14.3-$15.2 per barrel in February, according to data from the price agency Argus, seen by Interfax.

The cost of the North Sea benchmark in March is down to $71.5 per barrel, from $75.1 per barrel in February.

The discount for Urals oil at the port of Primorsk (FOB) to the North Sea benchmark in March increased by $0.2 per barrel to $15.5 per barrel. The price of Urals in Primorsk in March has fallen to $56 per barrel. Thus, the price fell below the price cap set by G7 countries, which allows their ship owners to transport Russian oil. But the use of the price cap in contracts is prohibited for Russian companies by a Russian presidential decree.

The discounts for Urals Suezmax FOB Novorossiysk to the North Sea benchmark in March are up $0.2 to $14.5 per barrel and the discount is $56.9. The discounts and prices for the Urals Aframax FOB Novorossiysk benchmark are the same.

According to Argus, the price of Russian Urals at Indian ports (DAP West Coast India) has dropped to $68.6 per barrel while the discount to NSD has widened from $2.8 to $2.83 per barrel.

The price of the other type of Russian oil, ESPO, which is sold from the Kozmino port in the country's east and which was affected the most by the latest U.S. sanctions, has dropped to $63.3 per barrel in March from $66.6 in February. The discount to the Dubai benchmark has fallen to $7.5 per barrel from $8.7 in the whole of February.

Russian Urals oil with delivery to China (Urals DAP Shandong) traded with a premium of $1.5 per barrel, up from $0.44 per barrel in February. The price fell to $71.25 in January.