Middle East crude benchmarks eased for a third straight session as cargo deliveries continued to ramp up towards the end of the month.

Benchmarks Dubai and Oman extended declines, with five cargoes delivered on the Platts window on Monday.

Meanwhile, Brent crude’s premium to Dubai narrowed further after a sharp crunch at the end of last week.

August EFS was at 55 cents at the Asia close (0830 GMT), based on Refinitiv data.

SINGAPORE CASH DEALS

Cash Dubai’s premium to swaps eased 7 cents to $1.50 a barrel. Five cargoes of August-loading crude were delivered on Monday.

Vitol delivered one cargo of Upper Zakum to Totsa, while Unipec delivered one cargo of Upper Zakum to Shell. Separately, Unipec delivered three cargoes of Oman crude to Totsa.

NEWS

Crude oil futures rose on Monday after a revolt by Russian mercenaries over the weekend raised concerns about political instability in Russia and the potential impact on oil supply from one of the world’s largest producers.

Global oil market fundamentals are expected to remain sound for the rest of the year, underpinned by healthy demand in developing countries, especially in China and India, Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser said on Monday.

Indonesia’s state energy company Pertamina reached a $3.1 billion financing deal with a number of export credit agencies and commercial banks to fund the upgrade of its Balikpapan refinery, the company said.

China is relentlessly adding new petrochemical capacity despite a global glut as the country’s refiners diversify from transport fuels, threatening to depress margins worldwide through 2024 as weak economic growth saps demand.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Jeslyn Lerh; Editing by Sohini Goswami)