SINGAPORE, Jan 4 Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd. (HPCL) sold 25,000-30,000 tonnes of napht

SINGAPORE, Jan 4 (Reuters) Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd. (HPCL) sold 25,000-30,000 tonnes of naphtha for prompt January loading from Mumbai via tender at firm premiums, after skipping its offer for December, traders said on Thursday.

HPCL sold the parcel to Emirates National Oil Co. (ENOC), traders said.

Some traders said the premium was around $1 or $2 a tonne to Middle East spot quotes, loading from the port of Mumbai, on a free-on-board (FOB) basis. But another source said the premium was as high as two digits.

The HPCL sales helped to lift India's spot naphtha exports for January loading to near 400,000 tonnes, although the export volumes were still below the country's monthly average of 500,000-600,000 tonnes, to divert supply to the firm domestic market.

This is helping to pull up the naphtha premium versus crude to more than $100 a tonne.

''HPCL did not offer for December loading due to domestic demand,'' a Singapore-based trader said.

Indian refiners sold around 450,000 tonnes for December loading via spot tender or private negotiation.

HPCL in late October sold one similar cargo to Trafigura at a discount of $7 a tonne to Middle East spot quotes, on an FOB basis for loading on Nov. 14-20 from Mumbai.

REUTERS CS DS1556