HOUSTON, Feb 13 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil grades were mixed in range-bound trading on Friday, as a wide discount for U.S. crude to the global benchmark Brent supported export demand while traders weighed U.S. refinery outages and potential OPEC supply moves.
WTI Midland eased 10 cents, while WTI at East Houston, also known as MEH, rose 5 cents. Mars firmed 15 cents.
The spread between WTI and Brent widened to minus $5 during the session. A spread larger than minus $4 typically encourages export demand, driving prices higher.
OPEC is leaning towards a resumption in oil output increases from April, three OPEC+ sources said, ahead of upcoming peak summer fuel demand, and amid firmer crude prices owing to tensions over U.S.-Iran relations.
On the U.S. supply side, Baker Hughes BKR.O said oil rigs fell by three to 409 this week.
The U.S. also eased sanctions on Venezuela's energy sector on Friday, issuing two general licenses that allow global energy companies to operate oil and gas projects in the OPEC member and for other companies to negotiate contracts to bring in fresh investments. That could help increase production in the long term.
In refining news, three contractors were contractors were injured by steam condensate while overhauling the small crude distillation unit at Exxon Mobil's XOM.N 612,000 barrel-per-day Beaumont, Texas, refinery, people familiar with operations at the refinery said.
A worker has died from injuries sustained in Monday's fire at Valero Energy's VLO.N Ardmore oil refinery in Oklahoma, contractor UPS Industrial Services said on Friday.
U.S. oil refiners are expected to have about 1.54 million barrels per day of capacity offline in the week ending February 13, decreasing available refining capacity by 200,000 bpd, research company IIR Energy said on Friday.
Light Louisiana Sweet for March delivery was unchanged at a midpoint of a $2.13 premium and was seen bid and offered between a $1.75 and $2.5 a barrel premium to U.S. crude futures CLc1
Mars Sour firmed 15 cents to a midpoint of a 50-cent discount, trading between a 75-cent and 25-cent a barrel discount to U.S. crude futures CLc1
WTI Midland eased 10 cents to a midpoint of a 55-cent premium and was seen bid and offered between a 40-cent and 70-cent a barrel premium to U.S. crude futures CLc1
West Texas Sour was little changed at a midpoint of a $2.65 discount, trading between a $2.85 and $2.45 a barrel discount to U.S. crude futures CLc1
WTI at East Houston, also known as MEH, traded between a 90-cent and $1.20 a barrel premium to U.S. crude futures CLc1
ICE Brent April futures LCOc1 fell 23 cents to settle at $67.75 a barrel on Friday.
WTI March crude CLc1 futures fell 5 cents to settle at $62.89 a barrel on Friday.
The Brent/WTI spread widened 12 cents to last trade at minus $4.98, after hitting a high of minus $4.82 and a low of minus $5.
(Reporting by Arathy Somasekhar in Houston; Editing by Ethan Smith)
((arathy.s@tr.com; +1 832 610 7346; X: @ArathySom; https://www.linkedin.com/in/arathy-somasekhar-b7724371/))