Med Crude-Urals edges up, Iran a worry

LONDON, Nov 22 (Reuters) - Russian sour Urals crude
edged up in the Mediterranean on Tuesday with traders saying the
grade has reached levels so strong that many buyers might soon
consider purchasing more sweet grades.

"It makes sense to start considering switching from sour to
sweet more aggressively," one trader said.

Lukoil bid for an early December, 80,000-tonne cargo in the
Mediterranean at dated Brent plus 30 cents, some 15 cents
stronger than previous bid levels but could not find sellers.

Traders also cited the lack of alternative sour grades such
as Iraqi or Iranian as pushing Urals' values high alongside good
refining margins, which prompted many refiners to raise runs.

"There are disruptions in Kurkuk deliveries (from Ceyhan)
and you have to buy Basrah in advance," one trader said.

Fears about potential disruptions to Iranian oil supplies to
Europe due to new tougher sanctions against Tehran are also
complicating planning, traders and analysts said.

"Such a move (suspension of Iranian oil sales in Europe)
would tighten the European crude market considerably and lead to
even higher prices for medium-sour crude, while China would
likely ramp up imports of potentially discounted Iranian crude,"
said analysts from JBC Energy.

In Russian news, traders said they were still awaiting
clarity on crude supplies from Russia in December as export
schedules have yet to be published.

Russia's TNK-BP will load 140,000 tonnes of Urals
from the Black Sea port of Novorossiisk on Nov. 25-26, traders
said.

Novorossiisk had been scheduled to handle 3.01 million
tonnes of Urals in November with volume rising to 3.7 million
tonnes during the final month of the year.

(Reporting by Dmitry Zhdannikov and Gleb Gorodyankin; editing
by William Hardy)