Middle East Crude-Benchmarks lose ground as trade slows


Middle East crude benchmarks Oman, Dubai and Murban lost ground on Wednesday as trading activities wound down towards the end of the month.

SINGAPORE CASH DEALS

Cash Dubai’s premium to swaps fell 12 cents to $1.04 a barrel.

TotalEnergies will deliver a May-loading Upper Zakum crude cargo to Mitsui following the deals.

NEWS

OPEC+ is unlikely to make any oil output policy changes until a full ministerial gathering in June, three OPEC+ sources told Reuters ahead of next week’s gathering of ministers that is not expected to make any policy recommendations.

Russian oil firms face delays of up to several months to be paid for crude and fuel as banks in China, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) become more wary of U.S. secondary sanctions, eight sources familiar with the matter said.

Mexican state energy company Pemex said its crude oil production in February hit its lowest monthly level in 45 years as output of the key commodity remained far from the goals laid out by outgoing President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.

World’s top energy trader Vitol said on Tuesday it saw a tight global oil products market as the Red Sea crisis and the rerouting of Russian products have pushed record volumes of oil products to be held on tankers at sea.

Japanese oil refiner Idemitsu Kosan 5019.T and Mitsui Chemicals 4183.T plan to consolidate their ethylene complexes in Chiba near Tokyo, they said on Wednesday, as the industry is under pressure from competition with China.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Florence Tan; Editing by Sohini Goswami)