Spot premiums for Middle East crude benchmarks Oman, Dubai and Murban dipped on Monday, with trades for September-loading cargoes expected to pick up speed this week.
Qatar Energy on Monday will close three tenders to sell crude for September loading with bids valid until Wednesday, traders said.
The producer offered three al-Shaheen crude cargoes for loading on Sept. 1-2, 17-18 and 25-26 and one cargo each of Qatar Land and Marine crude.
ARBITRAGE
Asia’s crude oil imports from Canada’s newly expanded Trans Mountain pipeline will rise in September, as major refiners in Japan and South Korea and a refinery in Brunei have bought their first cargoes alongside China, multiple trade sources said.
Chevron will split a Cold Lake crude cargo between its South Korean joint venture refiner GS Caltex and Japan’s top refiner ENEOS, traders said. ENEOS bought 250,000 barrels, while GS Caltex takes the remaining 300,000 barrels, they added.
South Korea’s top refiner SK Energy bought a cargo from Unipec, while Hengyi Petrochemical also purchased a cargo from PetroChina for its Brunei refinery, traders said.
The cargoes, of 550,000 barrels each, to be delivered in September were sold at discounts of between $5 and $6 a barrel to ICE Brent, they added.
Meanwhile, Chinese private refiner Rongsheng Petrochemical 002493.SZ has also purchased another two Access Western Blend (AWB) cargoes from ConocoPhillips and Vitol after buying two cargoes via a tender, traders said.
SINGAPORE CASH DEALS
Cash Dubai’s premium to swaps fell 4 cents to $1.80 a barrel.
ExxonMobil will deliver a September-loading Upper Zakum crude cargo to PetroChina in the first delivery this month.
NEWS
Official data showed on Monday China’s refinery output fell 3.7% in June from a year earlier, down for a third month amid planned maintenance, while lower processing margins and lacklustre fuel demand pushed independent plants to cut output.
Russia has sent ultra-low sulphur diesel from its ports for storage in the regional hub of Singapore and West Africa, traders and shipping data show, as ample supply has slowed demand.
Nigerian state-owned oil firm NNPC shareholding in Dangote refinery has been whittled down to 7.2% from 20% after failing to pay the balance of funding owed, Aliko Dangote, the refinery’s owner, told the BusinessDay newspaper.
Brent crude oil has been trading in a tight range of $75-$90 a barrel since late 2022 as OPEC+ cuts keep a floor under prices, while sizeable spare capacity, demand uncertainty and sanctions policy prevent the market breaking higher.
(Reporting by Florence Tan; Editing by Shreya Biswas)