Spot premiums for Middle East crude benchmarks — Oman, Dubai and Murban — slipped for a second session on Tuesday as concerns about Iranian oil supply disruption eased, erasing geopolitical risk premium in prices.
Global oil prices tumbled more than 4% to near two-week lows due to a weaker demand outlook and after a media report said Israel was willing to not strike Iranian oil targets, easing fears of a supply disruption.
State refiner Indian Oil Corp (IOC) issued a tender seeking crude for loading in December or delivery in January, which will close on Oct. 17.
QatarEnergy will close its tenders to sell al-Shaheen, Qatar Land and Qatar Marine crude later on Tuesday.
SINGAPORE CASH DEALS
Cash Dubai’s premium to swaps fell 15 cents to $1.56 a barrel.
TotalEnergies will receive a total of four December-loading cargoes following the deals. Hengli, Trafigura and ExxonMobil will deliver an Upper Zakum crude cargo each, while P66 will deliver an al-Shaheen crude cargo.
REFINERY
Ampol ALD.AX, Australia’s top fuel retailer, said on Tuesday it would undertake further maintenance at its Lytton refinery next month after the company reported a sharp drop in third-quarter output, sending its shares to a 21-month low.
NEWS
The world oil market is heading for a sizeable surplus in the new year, the International Energy Agency said on Tuesday, as it reassured markets that the agency stood ready to act if needed to cover any supply disruption from Iran.
OPEC on Monday cut its forecast for global oil demand growth in 2024 reflecting data received so far this year and also lowered its projection for next year, marking the producer group’s third consecutive downward revision.
Russia cut crude oil output in September by 28,000 barrels per day (bpd) to about 9 million bpd, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) said on Monday, citing data from secondary sources such as consultancies.
China’s oil imports fell in September by 0.6% from a year earlier, data showed on Monday, as plants curbed purchases because of weak domestic fuel demand and narrowing export margins.
French oil major TotalEnergies TTEF.PA expects its third-quarter downstream results to sharply decrease due to a 65% drop in refining margins in Europe and elsewhere, the company said on Tuesday amid a drop in global oil prices.
Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Tuesday reiterated that state energy firm Petronas will continue to conduct oil and gas exploration activities in Malaysia’s exclusive economic zone in the South China Sea, despite objections from China.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Florence Tan and Siyi Liu; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)