Med crude-Urals differentials steady, CPC Blend down in a deal

MOSCOW, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Urals crude differentials to dated Brent were stable on Tuesday, while discounts for CPC Blend crude oil widened to dated Brent after a deal during an afternoon trading session in the Platts window, traders said.

Black Sea CPC Blend oil exports via the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) system in February are set to drop to 1.42 million barrels per day (bpd), or 5.1 million metric tons, from 1.43 million bpd in the January plan, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Meanwhile, the current plan for February might be increased amid the restoration of oil output on the giant Tengiz oil field, traders said.

At the same time CPC Blend oil was under pressure from competitive oil grades in the European market, while discounts to dated Brent also widened due to market structure, traders added.

PLATTS WINDOW

• ExxonMobil bought 94,000 metric tons of CPC Blend loading on Feb. 13-17 at dated Brent minus $3.45 per barrel, much lower than the recent grade's estimates.

• No bids or offers were shown for Urals and Azeri BTC in the Platts window on Tuesday.

NEWS

• India expects its purchase of U.S. energy products to increase after President Donald Trump's announcement to maximise U.S. oil and gas production, said Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri in a meeting on Tuesday.

• Indian refiners Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemical Ltd (MRPL) MRPL.NS and Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) BPCL.NS issued tenders this week seeking crude oil, trade sources said on Tuesday, after harsher U.S. sanctions disrupted Russian supply.

(Reporting by Reuters)