North Sea Crude-Forties diff steady, Troll offered lower

LONDON, Jan 12 (Reuters) - North Sea Forties was unchanged on Friday after three deals, while Statoil (LSE: 0M2Z.L - news) continued to lower its offer level for Troll after eliciting little buying interest in the last few days.

* Several traders said they expect three to four VLCCs of Forties to head east in January.

* So far, PetroIneos has provisionally booked the New (KOSDAQ: 160550.KQ - news) Horizon for Jan. 28 and Shell (LSE: RDSB.L - news) has the Miltiadis Junior for Feb. 1, according to Reuters shipping fixtures.

* Statoil originally booked the Bukha and Gene VLCCs to take Forties to South Korea in December; traders said they still expected them to head east.

* The Bukha arrived near Hound Point on Jan. 11 and the Gene loaded crude at the beginning of the week, Reuters ship tracking showed. The Gene is currently sailing by Spain.

DEALS

* BP sold a cargo of Forties to Shell at dated Brent plus 60 cents a barrel loading Feb. 7-9.

* Statoil sold a cargo of Forties to Shell at dated Brent plus 50 cents a barrel loading Feb. 6-8.

* BP sold a cargo of Forties to Shell at dated Brent plus 55 cents a barrel loading Feb. 4-6.

BID/OFFERS

* Statoil offered a cargo of Troll at dated Brent plus $2.10 a barrel loading Feb. 5-10.

* PetroIneos bid for a cargo of Forties at dated Brent plus 75 cents a barrel loading Feb. 6-8.

* PetroIneos bid for a cargo of Forties at dated Brent plus 80 cents a barrel loading Jan. 24-26.

* Litasco offered a cargo of Forties at dated Brent plus 75 cents a barrel loading Feb. 5-7.

* BP withdrew an offer for a cargo of Forties at dated Brent plus 60 cents a barrel. (Reporting by Julia Payne; Editing by Mark Potter)