Middle East crude benchmarks Oman, Dubai and Murban rose on Wednesday amid firm demand from Asia, and as OPEC oil output fell in December after two months of increases.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries pumped 26.46 million barrels per day in December, down 50,000 bpd from November, a Reuters survey showed on Tuesday, with the United Arab Emirates providing the biggest drop.

The drop in the UAE’s output was due to field maintenance, while Iran’s production also declined, offseting a hike from Nigeria and other gains elsewhere in the group.

SINGAPORE CASH DEALS

Cash Dubai’s premium to swaps rose 4 cents to $1.60 a barrel.

NEWS

Shell SHEL trimmed its liquefied natural gas production outlook for the fourth quarter on Wednesday and said oil and gas trading results are expected to be significantly lower than in the previous three months.

Exxon Mobil XOM signaled on Tuesday that sharply lower oil refining profits and weakness across all its businesses would reduce its fourth-quarter earnings by about $1.75 billion from the prior quarter.

Iran is pushing to recoup 25 million barrels of oil from China that has been stuck for six years in Chinese ports due to sanctions imposed by then-U.S. President Donald Trump, three Iranian and one Chinese source familiar with the matter said.

India’s fuel consumption in December rose 2.1% year on year to 20.67 million metric tons, its highest level since last May, oil ministry data showed on Tuesday.
Source: Reuters