The Middle East crude benchmark spot premiums for Oman and Dubai rose on Wednesday, while that for Murban continued to decline.

Market participants are waiting for news on Saudi Arabia’s crude oil supply to China in January after the world’s biggest crude oil exporter cut its prices for Asian buyers to a four-year low.

Meanwhile, QatarEnergy is also expected to issue its tender for January-loading cargoes soon.

SINGAPORE CASH DEALS

Cash Dubai’s premium to swaps rose 25 cents to $0.98 a barrel.

ExxonMobil will deliver a February-loading Upper Zakum crude cargo to TotalEnergies following the deals.

REFINERY

Global commodities trading house Gunvor intends to mothball the processing units at its Europoort oil refinery in Rotterdam and use the Dutch site as a terminal only, a company spokesperson told Reuters.

NEWS

U.S. net crude oil imports are forecast to fall by 20% next year to 1.9 million barrels per day, their lowest since 1971, the Energy Information Administration said on Tuesday, pointing to higher U.S. production and lower refinery demand.

The Kremlin said on Wednesday that reports of a possible tightening of U.S. sanctions on Russian oil suggested the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden wants to leave a difficult legacy for U.S.-Russia relations.

Azerbaijan’s oil output fell by 4.0% to 26.5 million tonnes in the first eleven months of 2024, down from 27.6 million tonnes a year earlier, Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov said on Wednesday.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Siyi Liu in Singapore; Editing by Eileen Soreng)