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p>BP was heard Wednesday to have fixed a Suezmax loading crude from Scotland's Hound Point terminal from October 30 for travel to the US Gulf Coast, sources said.  The move was possibly sparked by the strike action in France, which has led to the shuttering of most of France's 1.85 million b/d refining capacity, and the related fall in European demand for North Sea grades.  Forties crude, the most prevalent North Sea grade, typically loads from Hound Point.  The Mare Doricum, a 135,000 mt Suezmax capable of moving about 1.2573 million barrels, was heard fixed Tuesday afternoon.  BP currently hold three 600,000-barrel Forties cargoes loading consecutively from October 30 to November 3. Market participants expect two of these cargoes to find their way into the vessel.  A trader at BP declined to comment, but few market participants saw the outright profitability in the move.  "The arb looks marginal, I think, but the numbers aren't pretty," one trader said. "Floating storage is not working yet and the curve has been bid recently which makes it even more uneconomic to store. US demand won't be great given the reverse arb," the trader added, referring to the Brent/WTI spread.  The December ICE Brent/NYMEX WTI futures spread Wednesday was assessed at $1.14/b. Typically, traders move material from the Continental UK to the US when WTI futures are trading above comparable ICE Brent futures.  The prolonged strike action across France has left most refining activity there halted (story 1659 GMT). This has had a dire effect on Forties differentials to benchmark Dated Brent, assessed Wednesday at minus $0.485/b,almost a five-month low, Platts data shows.  This has led to most North Sea market participants look to inland storage as the only outlet for the massing availability, while some are holding out for the end of the strike, forecasting a surge to North Sea differentials to Dated Brent when the strike ends, as refiners scramble to take advantage ofthe currently good margins.  "If suddenly the strike comes to an end then I guess you would see a flurry of tankers discharge and those who have been waiting will step in and buy," a North Sea marketer said.  However, since the end of the French strike action and political upheaval is not yet clear, BP may be using the Suezmax arbitrage as a "backstop," the first trader added.  "You need a backstop in this market, especially if all hell is let loose after the vote tomorrow," the trader said. "Can you imagine if the Paris riots happen again?" China ChemNet will hold China SNG/CBM (International) Summit on 10-12 Nov, 2010 in Changji City of Xinjiang Province. This summit is the high-end international summit under the guidance of authorities and experts, conference topics include five major aspects of policy interpretation, industry research, business promotion, business meetings and Sino-foreign cooperation, is not only the new type coal chemical industry conference, but also the best opportunity to energy giant polymerization, government and enterprises investment, investors looking for the project. Sincerely welcome you to attend the summit. Details: The e-commerce company in China offers quality products such as Sector Antennas , China Omni Directional Wifi Antenna, and more. For more , please visit Sector Antennas today!
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