Australia’s BHP sells December Pyrenees crude at record high premium -sources

Australia’s BHP Group Plc has sold a cargo of December-loading Pyrenees crude at a record-high premium of above $16 a barrel to dated Brent via a spot tender, two trade sources said on Friday.

The loading date for the 550,000-barrel cargo is Dec. 17-21.

The buyer of the cargo was not immediately known.

Pyrenees is a low-sulphur, or sweet, heavy Australian crude. It is being sold at high premiums because of strong demand from traders who are buying the grade for blending into marine fuels that meet new low-sulphur ship fuel rules starting in January 2020.

Spot premiums for December-loading regional crude cargoes have shot up as Asian buyers snapped up short-haul supplies after freight rates jumped.

Prior to this, Pyrenees crude traded at premiums of about $13-$14 a barrel to dated Brent, traders said.
Source: Reuters (Reporting By Shu Zhang; Editing by Susan Fenton)