NSea Crude-Forties bid higher, Oseberg heard sold

* Vitol bids Aug. 22-24 Forties dated minus 15 cts

* Statoil heard selling cross-month Oseberg

LONDON, July 31 (Reuters) - North Sea Forties crude was bid
higher on Friday but no offers were heard, while Norway's
Statoil was thought to have sold a cross-month Oseberg.

Maintenance work on the Buzzard oilfield will more than
halve the volume of Forties loading in August and the removal of
the sour stream will sweeten Forties from Aug. 15 to Sept. 12, a
change that is likely to make it more valuable.

FORTIES FOT-E

* Vitol bid dated BFOE minus 15 cents for a Forties cargo
loading in the period Aug. 22-24 and Total bid Aug. 17-23 at
September BFOE minus 45 cents, traders said.

That was up from a bid on Thursday at dated minus 30 cents.

There were no Forties offers.

REFINING MARGINS <REF/MARGIN1>

* Complex margins for Brent cracking in Rotterdam were
around $3.38 on Friday, up from the average of the past five
days of $2.88, Reuters refining models showed.

NORWEGIAN CRUDES

* Norwegian state-controlled oil company StatoilHydro was
thought to have shifted some cargoes, possibly on Thursday.

--Troll loading Aug. 26 offered on Thursday at dated plus
$1.90, thought to have sold

--Oseberg loading end-Aug/early Sep offered on Thursday at
dated plus 75 cents, heard to have traded.

SWAPS

The CFD curve was as follows:

3-7/8 Sep -60

10-14/8 Oct -85

17-21/8 Oct -80

24-28/8 Oct -74

1-4/9 Oct -65

7-11/9 Oct -52

ICE MINUTE MARKER

* The ICE set its September Brent afternoon one-minute
marker at $70.39.
(Reporting by Alex Lawler; Editing by Peter Blackburn)