Spot premiums for Middle East crude benchmarks Dubai, Oman and Murban slipped on Wednesday as trade volumes thinned towards end of the month.

SINGAPORE CASH DEALS

Cash Dubai’s premium to swaps fell 26 cents to 55 cents a barrel. P66 will deliver an August-loading Murban crude cargo to TotalEnergies following the deals.

REFINERY

Russian oil producer Lukoil LKOH.MM has restarted a key piece of equipment for oil processing at its NORSI refinery, Russia’s fourth-largest, following a drone attack in March, two industry sources told Reuters on Wednesday.

NEWS

U.S. oil and gas companies could face an uphill struggle to sell about $27 billion of assets to fund investor payouts over the next few years as the biggest wave of energy megamergers in 25 years nears the end of regulatory reviews.

Mexican state energy company Pemex upped the volume of crude oil it exported in May, following a substantial dip a month earlier, and returned to levels closer to its monthly average, official data showed.

U.S. crude oil imports last month rose to a nearly two-year high as refiners scooped up heavy crudes from Canada and Latin America to process into fuels for summer driving season.

Venezuela’s state oil company PDVSA has begun using tankers that navigate off radar to supply its closest political ally, Cuba, as a fleet of state-owned vessels that have historically covered the route dwindles, according to documents and ship monitoring services.

PetroChina International America, a unit of PetroChina 601857.SS, has agreed to pay a fine and forfeiture totaling $14.5 million for violations of U.S. export law, the Justice Department said on Tuesday.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Florence Tan; Editing by Eileen Soreng)