DUBAI FUTURES: Sour crude spreads rangebound ahead of key tenders

Singapore — The intermonth spreads for benchmark Dubai crude futures started the week of Sept. 14 rangebound, as key sour crude tenders have yet to be concluded.

At 11 am Singapore time (0300 GMT), the October/November spread for Dubai crude futures was pegged at a contango of 38 cents/b, down 2 cents/b from the Asian close on Sept. 11, S&P Global Platts data showed.
The November/December spread was pegged at a contango of 42 cents/b, down 2 cent/b over the same period.

Most market participants were looking toward upcoming tenders and trade negotiations for further clarity on market direction.

QPSPP’s Al-Shaheen offer tender for November-loading cargoes is expected to close on Sept. 15, market sources said Sept. 14. The tender is for two Al-Shaheen cargoes, loading Nov. 1-2 and Nov. 27-28.

More buy-tenders from refiners were also expected to be released in the coming days.

In updates on official selling prices, Iraq’s State Oil Marketing Organization over the weekend cut most of its October crude OSPs, with the biggest declines for Asian clients seen.

For Asian buyers, SOMO set Basrah Light at a premium of 30 cents/b against the Oman/Dubai average and Basrah Heavy at a discount of $1/b against the same average, it said on Sept. 13.

In September, Basrah Light was at a premium of $1.50/b against the Oman/Dubai average, and Basrah Heavy was at a discount of 25 cents/b against Oman/Dubai.
Source: Platts