The term contract was for up to three shipments a month of around 12,500 tonnes of Russian naphtha from the port of Svetly. Traders said the cargoes would end up in Europe because smaller vessels limit the opportunity for arbitrage play.
Continued appetite for term contracts for the supply of naphtha, an indicator of industrial demand, is in contrast with a glum outlook demand ahead, as traders contemplate the prospect of another recession in major European economies.
Trading house Trafigura will also be in a position to direct streams of Russian naphtha to Europe, having recently won new term contracts with Russia's TNK BP for 2012, following similar deals with the Russian refiner this year.
Traders said three streams of the refined product to the terminal of Murmansk had been secured by Trafigura, amounting up to 115,000 tonnes per month.
Naphtha prices are languishing this winter as moderate temperatures help keep rival feedstock propane at a deep discount, and refining margins for gasoline have fallen into negative territory.
Russian demand for naphtha has tapered off in line with the end of the driving season which has increased the volume of naphtha available, also helping to depress prices in Europe.
The Polymers Summit ICIS-MRC - 2011 has started today, on Nov, 30 in the Ritz-Carlton Moscow. The main topics of the reports were devoted to the development of petrochemical market and the strategy in the market of base polymers as well as launching new polymer productions.