BUZZ-Frontline rises as sanctions boost demand for crude carriers

** Shares in Norwegian oil tanker group Frontline FRO.OL rise 3.8% as tighter U.S. sanctions on Russian and Iranian fleets boost demand for large crude carriers

** Sanctions on shadow fleets could potentially retire tankers from service and drive up demand for vessels operated by non-Russian traders such as Frontline, says Kepler Cheuvreux in a post on a Swedbank Aktiellt platform

** "Assuming that 50% of these volumes will now be replaced by exports from Middle Eastern countries and through large crude carriers (VLCCs), this means that demand for VLCCs could potentially increase by 6-7%," adds broker

** Frontline is among top performers on the pan-European STOXX 600 index .STOXX

(Reporting by Jesus Calero)

((Jesus.calero@thomsonreuters.com))