Middle East crude benchmarks Oman and Murban rose for a second day, while Dubai eased after a previous day of gains.

SINGAPORE CASH DEALS

Cash Dubai’s premium to swaps fell 5 cents to $0.45 a barrel.

PetroChina and Hengli will each deliver a December-loading Al Shaheen cargo to Mitsui following the deals.

Mercuria will deliver a December-loading Upper Zakum crude cargo to Mitsui following the deals.

TENDERS

State-owned QatarEnergy has cut the term price for al-Shaheen crude oil loading in December to the lowest in more than a year, several trade sources said on Thursday, as abundant Middle Eastern supply weighed on the market.

REFINERY

Russian oil refineries will postpone planned maintenance in order to saturate the market, Energy Minister Sergei Tsivilev said on Wednesday.

Ukraine struck Russia’s Saratov oil refinery overnight, the Ukrainian military general staff said in a statement on Telegram on Thursday, without providing details about the strike or the extent of the damage.

NEWS

Bank of America on Wednesday said that if U.S.-China trade tensions intensify while OPEC+ production ramps up, Brent prices could slip below $50 a barrel.

Russia’s Black Sea port of Novorossiisk has reached its maximum capacity to export, leaving traders struggling to reroute the crude oil it cannot refine domestically and that increased OPEC+ quotas allow it to produce, three market sources said.

Some Indian refiners are preparing to cut Russian oil imports, with expectations of a gradual reduction, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters, with the U.S. pressuring New Delhi to stop buying Russian crude to help end the war in Ukraine.

India’s Mangalore Refineries and Petrochemicals is scouting for oil from alternative sources sold at a discount while hoping to continue buying Russian oil, its managing director said on Wednesday.

Norway’s Equinor said on Thursday it has begun production at its Bacalhau oilfield in Brazil, one year later than originally planned when the investment decision was made in 2021.

Russian oil companies have not reduced supplies to the network of pipeline monopoly Transneft, and deliveries this year are seen on a par with 2024, a senior Transneft official said on Thursday.
Source: Reuters