Structural shift: rising Baltic exports have led Urals' values to slide in northwest Europe. Exporters will have to get used to it.(Editorial)

Russian Urals crude has always been worth more in northwest Europe than in the Mediterranean, reflecting the greater volumes exported from Black Sea ports. But pipeline operator Transneft's concentration of export capacity expansion on the Baltic Pipeline System (BPS) feeding Primorsk is rapidly changing this reality, and Urals exports from Baltic ports could overtake those from Black Sea outlets by late this year.

Urals in Rotterdam fell by 80 cents/bl against dated BFO to a discount of over $2/bl after Transneft's surprise announcement of a hike in Primorsk exports to 600,000 b/d for November. The grade then rebounded--although it remained at a discount to …