Middle East crude benchmarks traded mixed on Monday, with light sour benchmark Murban extending gains amidst a widening Brent/Dubai EFS, while Oman and Dubai staying little changes.

Spot premium for Murban rose to $2.97 a barrel over the Dubai quotes, up from $1.82 in the previous session.

The EFS, or the spread between Brent- and Dubai-pegged oil, was assessed at $2.12 a barrel on Monday, its widest level in more than a week. A wider EFS makes hauling crude from the Atlantic Basin less economical for Asian refiners.

SINGAPORE CASH DEALS
Cash Dubai’s premium to swaps dipped 4 cents to $1.59 a barrel.

PetroChina will deliver one December-loading Dubai crude cargo to Gunvor following the trades.

NEWS
South Korea’s S-Oil, whose main shareholder is Saudi Aramco, on Monday said regional refining margins are projected to remain solid thanks to winter demand, given low global inventories and limited supply potential.

A fire that broke out in the early hours of Sunday at the Afipsky oil refinery in Russia’s Krasnodar region was promptly extinguished, the region’s emergency security authorities said after social media reports of powerful blasts shaking the refinery.

Britain’s oil and gas regulator, the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA), on Monday awarded 27 new hydrocarbon exploration licenses, even as climate activists criticise the government for allowing fresh drilling.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Muyu Xu; Editing by Sohini Goswami)