Med crude-Urals diffs unchanged, oil pumping via CPC pipeline down 30-40%

MOSCOW, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Urals crude differentials to dated Brent were stable on Tuesday, while oil flows via CPC pipeline were down by 30-40%, Russian officials said.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Tuesday that the volume of oil pumped through the CPC was down by 30-40% due to a Ukrainian drone attack on a pumping station in southern Russia.

Prices for CPC Blend oil cargoes were yet to react, traders said, as February barrels were mostly placed. Most recent deals were done close to minus $4 per barrel and a bit firmer they added.

Oil loadings from Russia's Black Sea port of Novorossiisk were suspended on Tuesday due to a storm, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

PLATTS WINDOW

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

NEWS

• India's Reliance Industries Ltd RELI.NS raised its January oil imports from Russia by about 10% to 359,000 barrels per day (bpd), as the supplies start in its long-term deal with Russian oil major Rosneft ROSN.MM, data from industry and trade sources showed.

• A major pipeline connecting Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan region to Turkey is ready to reopen and resume exports, the Kurdish foreign minister said on Tuesday, potentially ending a dispute between Baghdad and Erbil that led to the closure of the pipeline in 2023.