MOSCOW, March 25 (Reuters) – Urals crude oil differentials to dated Brent were unchanged on Thursday as traders waited for Surgutneftegaz’s tender results expected on Friday to get an understanding of the market’s price level.

TENDER

* Russia’s Surgutneftegaz has issued a spot tender to sell five 100,000-tonne cargoes of Urals crude loading from Primorsk and Ust-Luga ports in April, traders said on Thursday.

* The producer offers 300,000 tonnes of Urals oil loading from Primorsk on April 13-14, 22-23 and 25-26 and 200,000 tonnes loading from Ust-Luga on April 15-16 and 19-20.

* The tender closes on March 26 at 1400 Moscow time (1100 GMT).

PLATTS WINDOW

* There were no bids or offers for Urals, CPC Blend or Azeri BTC in the Platts window. NEWS

* Crude oil producers from Europe, Africa and the United States faced difficulties selling to Asia, especially China, as buyers took cheaper oil from storage while refinery maintenance has reduced demand, industry sources said on Thursday.

* A container ship blocking the Suez Canal like a “beached whale” may take weeks to free, the salvage company said, as officials stopped all ships entering the channel on Thursday in a new setback for global trade. (Reporting by Olga Yagova; editing by Jonathan Oatis)

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