London (Platts)--14Dec2012/934 am EST/1434 GMT

Italy's Eni made the relatively rare move of nominating an Ekofisk crude cargo into the Brent, Forties, Oseberg and Ekofisk chains this week, traders said Friday.

A trading source at Eni confirmed the information but did not provide additional details.

Forties is usually the crude of choice for putting into the Dated Brent nomination chains at it is more sulfurous, and thus cheaper, than Brent, Oseberg and Ekofisk.

Sellers of BFOE forward contracts have to nominate physical cargoes of Brent, Forties, Oseberg or Ekofisk to their counterparty with 25 days' notice and they usually choose the cheapest option.

Article continues below...

Platts 6th Annual European Oil Storage Conference 21-22 January 2013, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
	Platts 6th Annual European Oil Storage conference will once again bring together leading terminal operators, EPCs, logistics and distribution companies, suppliers and service providers, regulatory bodies, and oil gas and petrochemical companies to discuss the most pressing challenges facing the industry. It provides an unrivalled opportunity for delegates to network, share best practice and learn what others in the storage industry are currently doing to maximise profitability in today's challenging market place

Traders struggled to explain Eni's decision Friday.

"I don't profess to know what their internal economics are but it's surprising... I can't explain it," said one trader.

Some Brent and Oseberg cargoes were put into the chains this year, so the move is not totally unheard of.

Ekofisk was assessed at a premium to Dated Brent of $2.15/barrel Thursday, while Forties was at Dated Brent plus 76.5 cents/b.

--Olivier Lejeune, olivier_lejeune@platts.com
--Edited by Alisdair Bowles, alisdair_bowles@platts.com

Tweet