The start of exports from Russia's new Baltic oil terminal, Ust-Luga, in March will maintain pressure on the price of Urals crude oil, already trading at its lowest this year, traders said Thursday.

Weak refining margins and high prices have deterred buyers of Urals crude this month and sent the price plummeting to a discount of $2.75 to the Brent benchmark this week.

Now the prospect of additional supply in March is likely to keep prices under pressure, traders said, though they added that improving refining margins could also lend some support.

Urals is seen as a good replacement for Iranian crude, so lower prices will come as a relief to European refiners worried about buying alternative crudes once the European Union's embargo on the Islamic Republic kicks in July.

Two test cargoes are due to load from Ust-Luga at the end of March, a spokesman for state oil pipeline operator OAO Transneft (TRNFP.RS) said.

"If the first loading goes well--as expected--a second test loading will start several days later," he said.

Russian oil company Surgutneftgaz JSC (SGTZY) issued a tender to sell the first cargo, 100,000 metric tons of Urals crude scheduled to load on March 21-22.

The tender was met by skepticism from traders after a similar offer last month was rescinded.

"I feel like I've seen these headlines every month since November," said one trader.

"We will see if it actually loads," he added.

However, the signs were positive as shipbrokers said interest in chartering ships out of Ust-Luga has grown.

Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSA) has chartered the Seamagic tanker to load 100,000 tons of crude from Ust Luga on March 21, shipping fixtures showed. The fixtures also showed several fuel oil cargoes scheduled to load in March.

The start of operations at Ust Luga were delayed due to the collapse of a berth in November, which led to extended maintenance and forced the start date to be pushed back several times.

The terminal is set to handle around 400,000 barrels a day, shipped via the Baltic Pipeline System. The pipeline redirects Russian oil to the Baltic Sea from the Druzhba pipeline system that goes through Belarus to the EU.

-By Sarah Kent and Konstantin Rozhnov, Dow Jones Newswires;4420-7842-9376; sarah.kent@dowjones.com

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