Middle East crude benchmarks spot premiums tumbled on Monday, with that of Oman falling to its lowest level since early March, amid mounting supply outlook as the market eyed another OPEC+ output hike in July.
Reuters reported earlier this month that the group could unwind the rest of its 2.2 million bpd voluntary production cut by the end of October, having already raised output targets by about 1 million bpd for April, May and June.
China’s Yulong Petrochemical bought one million barrels of July-loading Iraq’s Basrah Heavy crude from Sinochem at a premium of low $1s per barrel to Brent contract prices, trade sources said.
Yulong also purchased one million barrels of Brazil’s Sepia crude at above $2 per barrel from Totsa, the trading arm of TotalEnergies TTE, at a premium of high $2s per barrel, they said.
Both purchases were made last week.
SINGAPORE CASH DEALS
Cash Dubai’s premium to swaps fell 20 cents to 88 cents a barrel, the lowest since May 5.
Vitol will deliver a July-loading al-Shaheen crude cargo and a July-loading Oman crude cargo to PetroChina following the deals.
Vitol will deliver a July-loading Dubai crude cargo to Trafigura following the deals.
Total will deliver a July-loading Upper Zakum crude cargo to PetroChina following the deals.
NEWS
Top U.S. oil producer Exxon Mobil XOM and Hess HES will meet face-to-face on Monday in a court hearing to determine the fate of Chevron’s CVX $53 billion deal to buy Hess and with it, a prized stake in Guyana’s prolific oilfields.
Saudi state oil giant Aramco is exploring potential asset sales to free up funds, two people with knowledge of the matter said, as it pursues an international expansion and weathers lower crude prices.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration is preparing to issue a narrowly tailored license to Chevron CVX, allowing the company to conduct minimal maintenance of essential operations in Venezuela, Bloomberg News reported on Friday.
Iraq has signed a contract with a consortium consisting of China-based Geo-Jade Petroleum Corp and Basra Crescent to implement an integrated energy project aimed at ramping up Iraq’s Tuba oilfield’s production to 100,000 barrels per day from 20,000 barrels.
Source: Reuters