OREANDA-NEWS. February 25, 2011. India's Oil & Natural Gas Corp ( ONGC )) sold a second-half March naphtha cargo to Shell from Mumbai at less than half the premiums it had fetched for an earlier cargo as the market has been hit by weak fundamentals, traders said on Thursday.

The state-owned refiner sold the 35,000-tonne cargo for March 22-23 loading from Mumbai to the major at premiums of USD 7.20-USD 7.50 a tonne to Middle East spot quotes on a free-on-board (FOB) basis.

These were about 53-55 percent lower compared to the USD 16.00 a tonne premium it had fetched, also from Shell, previously for a cargo lifting from the same port on March 2-3. Factors including upcoming cracker maintenance, cheaper liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) prices and a weak European market have weighed on sentiment.

Cracks, the premiums/losses obtained from refining Brent crude into naphtha, fell to USD 117.80 a tonne premium on Wednesday versus a near three-year high on Jan. 5 at USD 186.50 a tonne premium.