US domestic crude-oil grades fell with New York futures after US-led forces captured Iraq's key oil-producing region.
Rumaila, the part of southern Iraq with the biggest oil deposits at 20 billion barrels of reserves, has been secured by British forces, a British military officer said.
Benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude oil for April delivery at Cushing, Oklahoma, fell US$1.25, or 4.4 percent, to US$27.36 a barrel, according to Bloomberg data. April WTI traded at a US$0.45 premium to the May New York Mercantile Exchange futures contract, which fell US$1.21, or 4.3 percent, to US$26.91 a barrel. April futures expired yesterday.
The Rumaila field has more than 600 wells, according to the US Energy Department.
Spot oil will continue to be priced against April WTI through Tuesday. Crude oil futures fell 24 percent this week in their biggest weekly decline since the start of the 1991 Gulf War.
West Texas Sour's discount to April West Texas Intermediate widened to US$4 barrel from minus US$3 yesterday. It fell to US$2.25 to US$23.36 a barrel. "Sour" indicates a grade with high sulfur content.
The discount for sour MARS Blend widened by US$0.50 to US$4.90 below the April WTI price. MARS was priced at US$22.46, down US$1.75, or 7.2 percent.
Poseidon crude had a discount to April WTI US$0.60 wider than yesterday at minus US$4.90. The grade was assessed at US$22.46 a barrel, down US$1.85.
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