CPC Blend oil discounts deepen as traders wary of supply risks, sources say

MOSCOW/LONDON, Feb 10 (Reuters) - CPC Blend crude for February loading is trading at its biggest discount to dated Brent since late 2022 as buyers hold back after months of export disruptions, including field outages, bad weather, and Ukrainian drone attacks, four traders said.

Supplies via the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC), the main export route for Kazakh oil, have faced repeated interruptions, triggering large cargo cancellations.

Several February-loading CPC Blend cargoes sold last week at dated Brent minus $5 a barrel, the traders said. They added that the discount narrowed slightly this week as more attractive prices drew in fresh demand.

Traders said weak differentials reflected that most buyers had already secured February barrels elsewhere to avoid CPC's unstable supply.

CPC Blend exports may fall by as much as 35% this month as Kazakhstan's giant Tengiz oilfield slowly recovers from fires at power facilities in January, according to the traders.

Logistical snags and higher war-related risks for ships entering Russia's Black Sea ports also weighed on differentials, they said. In mid-January, drones struck two oil tankers in the Black Sea, including one chartered by U.S. oil major Chevron CVX.N, as they headed for a Russian terminal.

Discounts for CPC Blend were last wider in late 2022, when the European Union embargo on Russian oil pushed the grade to around dated Brent minus $9 a barrel. Prices rebounded in 2023 after sanctions clarified that transit volumes were unaffected.

The CPC pipeline ends at Yuzhnaya Ozereyevka on Russia's Black Sea coast, and Russian companies also supply crude into the system.