Middle East crude benchmarks Oman, Dubai and Murban rose on Monday over risks of an escalation of the conflict between Israel and Hamas group, which may spill over to a wider region and embroil major oil producers such as Iran.

U.S. President Joe Biden said in an interview over the weekend that his message to Iran is do not come across the border and do not escalate the war.
Iran on Sunday warned Israel that if Israel does not attack it, its interests or its citizens, then Iran’s armed forces would not engage militarily with Israel.

But the Israeli military accused Iran on Monday of having ordered attacks by Hezbollah at the Lebanon-Israel border on Sunday.

The market is watching closely on Iran’s involvement in the conflict which would likely result in harsher sanctions from the U.S. on Iranian oil.

“The 0.5‑1.0mb/d increase in Iran’s oil exports this year – equivalent to 0.5‑1% of global oil supply – is at risk of being sidelined if U.S. sanctions are enforced in full,” said analysts from Commonwealth Bank of Australia in a note on Monday.

RUSSIAN OIL

The Indian government’s discomfort over letting state-controlled refiners pay for Russian oil imports with Chinese currency has held up the payment for at least seven cargoes, people with direct knowledge of the matter said.

The tussle over payment has not disrupted deliveries so far, with Russian firms such as Rosneft continuing to supply state-controlled Indian refiners, who are seeking alternative ways for settlement.

SINGAPORE CASH DEALS

Cash Dubai’s premium to swaps rose 46 cents to $3.00 a barrel.

PetroChina will deliver one December-loading Oman crude to Vitol following the trades.

NEWS

Russia believes it is important to keep working in OPEC+ and the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF)to stabilise the global energy market, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Monday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet Xi Jinping in China this week in a bid to deepen a partnership forged between the United States’ two biggest strategic competitors.

Iraq has launched three energy contracts with UAE-based Crescent Petroleum to develop three oil and gas fields in Iraq, the oil ministry said on Sunday.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Muyu Xu; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)