Spot premiums for Middle East crude benchmarks Oman and Dubai slumped in volatile trade towards the end of the month, while Murban’s premium climbed for a second session.

SINGAPORE CASH DEALS

Cash Dubai’s premium to swaps fell 30 cents to 87 cents a barrel.

Chevron will deliver one cargo of December-loading al-Shaheen and another cargo of Upper Zakum crude to Total following the trades. This brings the total of cargoes purchased by Total this month to 15 cargoes, or 7.5 million barrels. The other buyer – Mitsui – bought seven cargoes so far this month.

REFINERY

Indian refiner Bharat Petroleum Corp’s BPCL.NS use of Russian oil fell to 34% of the total intake for crude processing in the July-September quarter due to a maintenance shutdown of units at its Bina and Kochi refineries, its finance head said on Monday.

NEWS

The U.S. on Monday said it was seeking up to 3 million barrels of oil for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve for delivery through May next year, a purchase that would leave the government with little money to buy more until lawmakers approve more funds.

Asia’s front-month regrade spread, the difference between jet fuel and gasoil swaps, jumped to a six-year high, pricing data from LSEG showed on Monday, with traders attributing the move to strength in prompt market fundamentals for jet fuel.

Canadian-government owned oil pipeline operator Trans Mountain on Friday said it will shut the Puget Sound Pipeline from Laurel to Anacortes, Washington, for about seven days in mid-November to conduct planned maintenance.

Malaysian state energy firm Petronas plans an “aggressive” expansion in Indonesia that will see it create a hub for its operations in East Java and invest in exploration in the country’s far-flung eastern regions, its Indonesia head said on Monday.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Florence Tan; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)