Japan Companies Buy Sudan Nile Blend Crude For Mid-Nov
Dow Jones Newswires
November 8, 1999
TOKYO -- Major Japanese oil refiners and a trading house have bought spot
cargoes of Nile Blend crude oil from Sudan for delivery in the middle of
November, to take advantage of the new crude's marketing campaign,
Tokyo-based traders told Dow Jones Newswires Monday.
The first cargo of the new Nile Blend crude, totaling 600,000 barrels, was
loaded in late August from two major oil fields at Heglig and Unity, in
which Canada's Talisman Energy Inc. (TLM), China National Petroleum Corp.,
Petronas Carigali Sdn. Bhd. of Malaysia and Sudapet Ltd. hold stakes.
The Japanese companies have decided to purchase September-loaded Nile
Blend cargoes mainly for appraisal cracking of the new crude, while
enjoying its discount prices and low freight costs under the special
marketing campaign, they said.
The trading sources indicated the Japanese buyers include Nippon
Mitsubishi Oil Corp. (J.NPO or 5001), Idemitsu Kosan Co.(J.IKC), Cosmo Oil
Co.(J.COO or 5007), Japan Energy Corp. (J.NPM or 5014), Toho Oil Co. and
Mitsubishi Corp. ((MSBHY or 8058).
The purchase volumes of the companies aren't available. One refinery
source said his company purchased about 300,000 barrels for November
lifting.
Nile Blend is said to have an API gravity of 34.8 and a relatively low
sulfur content - a similar specification to Indonesia's Sumatra Light
crude or Minas crude. The buyers are expected to check if the
specification of the crude matches their refineries' needs in November and
December, the traders said.
The production of Nile Blend crude has been approximately 120,000 barrels
a day from the two fields in Sudan. Talisman Energy, an operator of the
commercial production, aims to boost the output beyond 150,000 b/d next
year. |
