LONDON, Dec 13 (Reuters) - Congolese and some Angolan heavy
sweet grades were selling more rapidly on Friday ahead of
February export programmes due early next week, as refiners
sought suitable crude varieties for refining into very low
sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO).
* Spain's Repsol bought two cargoes of Congolese Djeno,
loading Jan. 3-4 and 11-12, as well as Angolan Dalia for Jan.
16-17.
* After a lull in middle distillate refining margins, buyers
are scaling up their interest in oil types that best produce
cleaner shipping fuel ahead of new Jan. 1 global rules.
* Portugal's Galp had been offering two cargoes of Angolan
CLOV, for export on Jan. 5-6 and 23-24, before moving to absorb
them into its own refining system.
* Chevron continues to offer a cargo of Angolan Cabinda for
dated Brent plus $3.20.
* Around seven Angolan cargoes have yet to be sold from the
January programme, in a slight improvement in the pace of
selling compared with last month as export schedules are due to
emerge for February on Monday.
* Chinese buying was again relatively slow for January and
trading was weighed in recent days by an uptick in freight
rates, but European demand remains relatively robust.
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China and India, which are large and fast-growing consumers.
* Oil rose on Friday to its highest in nearly three months
as investors cheered progress in resolving the U.S.-China trade
dispute and a decisive general election result in Britain.