CPC Blend crude prices fall as drone attacks disrupt exports

Offer prices for Caspian CPC Blend crude oil dropped sharply this week, according to trade sources, as exports of the grade continue to be impacted by drone strikes in the Black Sea and weather-related delays.

ExxonMobil, a shareholder in the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, was offering on Thursday a 120,000-tonne CPC Blend cargo at a $1.35 per barrel discount to benchmark dated Brent in the Platts window, a service run by oil-index publisher SP Global Commodity Insights, trade sources said.

No buyers stepped forward, and the offer was withdrawn.

A day earlier, the US oil major had offered the same cargo at a 40 cent discount, which one physical oil trader had described at the time as a cheap offer relative to current market prices.