Middle East Crude-Benchmarks slip ahead of contract expiry

Middle East crude benchmarks Oman, Dubai and Murban slipped on Wednesday, a day ahead of expiry for the futures contracts.

RUSSIAN CRUDE

Fresh U.S. sanctions on Moscow threaten to dent Russian oil sales to India, the biggest buyer of Russian seaborne crude, and complicate efforts by Indian state refiners to secure annual supply deals, three industry sources familiar with the matter said.

Sources said Indian refiners are concerned the latest sanctions will create “challenges” in getting vessels for Russian oil and could drive up freight rates. That may narrow the discount for the oil, which is bought from traders and Russian companies on a delivered basis.

TENDERS

State refiner Indian Oil Corp has awarded a tender to buy 4 West African crude cargoes, traders said. It bought Nemba, Djeno, Agbami and Bonny Light from TotalEnergies and Shell for May arrival, they added.

REFINERY

Swiss miner and commodities trader Glencore is looking at buying Shell’s oil refinery and petrochemical units in Singapore as the oil major seeks a buyer for the sites after earlier suitors dropped out, several industry and trading sources said.

Glencore is working jointly with Indonesia’s PT Chandra Asri Petrochemical to evaluate the assets, two of the sources said.

Oman’s newly inaugurated Duqm refinery, OQ8, may start processing more crude grades towards the end of the year with studies currently underway, CEO David Bird told Reuters.

It is now running at full capacity of 230,000 barrels per day (bpd) and processing 65% Kuwaiti crude and 35% Omani.

“Towards the latter half of 2024 and beyond we will be looking at a full merchant refinery model of processing advantage crudes,” Bird said.

NEWS

OPEC+ will consider extending voluntary oil output cuts into the second quarter, three OPEC+ sources told Reuters, to provide additional support for the market, and could keep them in place until the end of the year, according to two of them.

China’s aviation fuel consumption is likely to expand 13.1% this year, extending a robust recovery last year on passenger travel, but the country’s crude oil imports may stay largely flat, according to forecasts by a research arm of state energy giant China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC).

Japan’s biggest refiner, Eneos Corp 5020.T, on Wednesday named executive vice president Tomohide Miyata as its new chief executive, effective April 1, replacing President Takeshi Saito, who was dismissed in December for misconduct.

Global crude oil markets are expected to be fairly stable this year at around $80 a barrel, Russel Hardy, CEO of oil and gas trader Vitol, said on Tuesday.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Florence Tan; Editing by Sohini Goswami)