Middle East crude benchmarks Oman, Dubai and Murban were little changed on Thursday, with traders focusing on taking the remaining March-loading cargoes offered by regional producers.

Arbitrage cargoes from the United States and Mediterranean regions are still less attractive to Asian refiners despite the declining freight rates, trading sources said.

“Very few shipowners dare to sail through the Red Sea, and re-routing via the Cape of Good Hope adds costs on freight and time. In this sense, we would rather take Mideast grades such as Murban,” said a Singapore-based trader.

Boosted by a strong appetite for Middle Eastern oil, Iraq’s Basrah Heavy is traded at a premium of around 40 cents a barrel above its official selling price (OSP). China’s Rongsheng bought Basrah Heavy at a discount of around 50 cents against OSP earlier this month.

Meanwhile, Vietnam’s PV oil is heard selling its March-loading Bach Ho Light crude cargoes at about $6 a barrel over Dated Brent via a tender.

SINGAPORE CASH DEALS

Cash Dubai’s premium to swaps fell 2 cents to $1.04 per barrel.

NEWS

Ukrainian drones attacked a Rosneft-owned ROSN.MM oil refinery in southern Russia in the latest such strike on Russian energy infrastructure, a Ukrainian source said on Thursday.

U.S. crude oil stockpiles slumped while gasoline inventories jumped last week after winter weather hit crude production and imports, refining, and demand for fuel, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday.

The International Energy Agency plans to bring forward publication of its first 2025 oil demand forecast in its monthly report by two or three months to April, the agency told Reuters, after OPEC expedited its forecast by six months.

Kuwait Oil Tanker Company on Thursday said it is monitoring and assessing the situation in the Red Sea on a daily basis, state news agency KUNA reported.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Muyu Xu; Editing by Shweta Agarwal)