Spot premiums for Middle East crude benchmarks Oman, Dubai and Murban held above $3 a barrel on Friday, the first trading day for October-loading supply, as concerns about sanctions on Russian oil and prompt demand from India supported prices.

Indian refiners, wary of further sanctions from the U.S. on Russia that could disrupt supplies, have pre-emptively bought some cargoes from the Middle East and Africa, traders said.

ARBITRAGE

Pakistan’s largest refiner Cnergyico CNERGY will import 1 million barrels of oil from Vitol in October, Cnergyico’s Vice Chairman Usama Qureshi said on Friday, the country’s first-ever purchase of U.S. crude following a landmark trade deal.

The West Texas Intermediate light crude cargo will be loaded from Houston this month and is expected to arrive in Karachi in the second half of October, he said.

“This is a test spot cargo under our umbrella term agreement with Vitol. If it is commercially viable and available, we could import at least one cargo per month,” Qureshi told Reuters, adding that Vitol was its long-term trading partner.

SINGAPORE CASH DEALS

Cash Dubai’s premium to swaps was at $3.05 a barrel.
Source: Reuters