* Forties sold at dated Brent plus 84 cents, up 29 cents
* Swaps backwardation curve steepens
* Refinery demand combines with tighter loading programmes
* BP active buyer of physical Forties in window
LONDON, Oct 9 (Reuters) - North Sea Forties crude differentials pushed higher on Tuesday, supported by reports of stronger refinery demand and as BP entered the wet cargo market as a buyer.
Physical, paper and swaps levels all strengthened sharply, particularly at the front end of the curve, swaps dealers said.
North Sea loading programmes for November so far show a smaller stream of cargoes for export with around 780,000 barrels per day (bpd) of the four BFOE grades - Brent, Forties, Oseberg and Ekofisk - available, down from about 870,000 bpd in October.
European middle distillate and light products markets are tight, supported by a combination of lower runs, refinery maintenance turnarounds and pre-winter buying, and most of the distillate-rich cargoes are being snapped up by end-users as they appear, traders said.
Almost the entire Forties crude oil cargo loading programme for October has been deferred due to a slower-than-expected return to production of the Buzzard offshore oilfield, Britain's biggest, after a maintenance shutdown.
At least four October Forties cargoes have been deferred into November. The deferral should compensate slightly for lower Forties November loadings.
FORTIES
* In the afternoon trading window, Shell sold BP a Forties loading Oct. 29-31 at dated Brent plus 84 cents, up almost 30 cents from Monday's last trade. On Monday, Trafigura sold an Oct. 22-24 Forties BP at dated Brent plus 55 cents.
* Also in the afternoon trading window, BP bid up to dated Brent plus 80 cents for a Forties cargo loading Oct. 24-28 but found no sellers at that level. On Monday, Shell offered an Oct. 22-24 Forties at dated plus 80 cents.
SWAPS
* The swaps curve remained in steep backwardation, strengthening particularly at the front of the curve.
15-19/10 Dec +135 22-26/10 Dec +110 29-02/11 Dec +78 5-9/11 Dec +53 12-16/11 Dec +28 19-23/11 Dec +5 DATABASE
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(Reporting by Christopher Johnson,; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)
((christopher.johnson@thomsonreuters.com)(+44 207 542 6056)(Reuters Messaging: christopher.johnson.reuters.com@reuters.net))
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Monthly North Sea crude loading programmes
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