UPDATE 1-BP delays crude unit restart at Texas City-trade

(Adds no comment from refinery spokesman, market details, paragraphs 5-7)

NEW YORK, Dec 19 (Reuters) - BP has delayed the restart of a crude unit at its Texas City, Texas, refinery by about a month until mid-February, trade sources said on Wednesday.

The refinery, which was shut ahead of Hurricane Rita in September 2005, has a nameplate capacity of 460,000 barrels per day.

In a third-quarter earnings release, BP said it expected the refinery to reach 400,000 barrels per day by the end of 2008.

Traders said the unit had a 225,000 bpd capacity.

A refinery spokesman was not immediately available for comment.

Crude oil traders reported that BP is offering a cargo of North Sea Forties crude at about 50 cents less than comparable cargoes with later loading dates and despite backwardation in the North Sea cargo CFD market.

"It definitely looks like a distressed sale," said one crude oil trader. (Reporting by Rebekah Kebede, Robert Campbell and Janet McGurty, writing by Janet McGurty; editing by Jim Marshall)