* Supplies of Russian flagship Urals crude oil to Turkey reached a four-month high in February after STAR refinery, owned by Azerbaijan's oil firm SOCAR, resumed purchases of the blend, data showed and four industry sources said on Wednesday.
* Turkey remains a rare outlet for the Russian crude in Mediterranean after a European Union embargo cut off most options for sellers of Urals.
* Traders expect that the rise in Urals oil imports by
Turkey may
support the grade's price in March.
* Russia's second-largest oil producer Lukoil has
set up
ship-to-ship (STS) loadings of Urals oil near the western port
of Kaliningrad, Refinitiv Eikon data showed and trading sources
told Reuters on Wednesday.
PLATTS WINDOW
* No bids or offers were made for Urals, Azeri BTC or CPC
Blend in
the Platts window on Wednesday, traders said.
NEWS
* Commodities pricing agency S&P Global Platts will be
excluding
Russian-origin material from its assessments of fuel oil cargoes
and bunker fuel in Asia and the Middle East from March 1, the
company said in a note to subscribers on Wednesday.
* U.S. crude oil inventories rose for the 10th week in a row, but record U.S. exports of crude oil kept the build smaller than in recent weeks, data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration showed on Wednesday. (Reporting by Reuters. Editing by Jane Merriman)
