Middle East Crude-Dubai gains for 4th consecutive session

Middle East crude benchmark Dubai nudged higher for a fourth consecutive session on Wednesday with another three cargoes delivered on Platts window.

PTT, on behalf of Thai refiner IRPC, bought two Murban cargoes from Glencore and BP at premiums of $1.20-$1.30 a barrel to Dubai quotes, traders said.

Chinese refiner Rongsheng Petrochemical will close a tender on Thursday to buy crude loading in April or to be delivered from April 15 to May 31.

ASIA-PACIFIC CRUDE

PV Oil has sold its April loading cargoes at higher premiums than the previous month, traders said.

Exxon Mobil swept all three Su Tu Den cargoes at premiums of more than $7 a barrel to dated Brent while domestic refiner Binh Son took the Chim Sao cargo at a premium close to $8 a barrel, they said.

SINGAPORE CASH DEALS

Cash Dubai’s premium to swaps rose 8 cents to $1.16 a barrel.

Mitsui will receive an April-loading Upper Zakum crude cargo from Reliance and an Oman cargo from Gunvor while Koch will deliver an Oman cargo to Trafigura.

REFINERY

Vietnam’s Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical BSR.HNO will begin maintenance work at its 130,000-barrel-per-day Dung Quat refinery on March 15, the company’s chairman said on Wednesday.

The major maintenance will last for 50 days, Nguyen Van Hoi told Reuters.

Oil refining in Russia has decreased by about 7% since the beginning of the year, Russian Energy Minister Nikolai Shulginov said on Tuesday.

NEWS

Demand for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) should see a long-sought boost after regional airline hub Singapore said it would require SAF on flights from 2026, but high costs and uncertain raw material supply will mean barriers to wider adoption remain.

The White House will approve a request from a group of Midwest governors to allow year-round sales of gasoline with higher blends of ethanol, but will push the start date into next year, two sources familiar with discussions said.

Australian gas producer Santos STO.AX reported a worse-than-feared 42% drop in annual profit on Wednesday on weaker gas prices and output and flagged it was working to boost its valuation after merger talks failed with bigger rival Woodside.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Florence Tan; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)