Sudan sells August Nile Blend at larger discount

July 9, 2009 (LONDON) – Sudan has managed to sell 2.2 million barrels of heavy sweet Dar Blend crude for loading in August at weaker differentials than that in the previous tender, traders told Reuters on Thursday.

Last June Sudan State oil firm Sudapet made the tender which closed for bids on June 28.

Sudapet sold the 600,000-barrel Dar Blend cargo to Malaysia’s Petronas, another 600,000-barrel cargo to Middle East trading company Fal Oil and a 1.0 million barrel-cargo to European trader Vitol, the traders said.

Differentials fetched for the August cargoes were between a discount of $7.40 and $7.80 a barrel to dated Brent, weaker than the $7.10 to $7.50 discount fetched for two July cargoes Petronas sold via tenders.

But the differential was stronger than a discount of $8.50 a barrel fetched for a spot Dar Blend cargo for August loading China’s CNPC sold to Chinaoil earlier this month.

Petronas and CNPC are equity partners of the project.

Dar Blend crude is heavily discounted because of its high acid content, which makes it unattractive to most Asian refiners. U.S. sanctions against the purchase of Sudanese goods also keep many companies away

(ST)