Middle East crude benchmarks Oman and Murban jumped on the first trading day of October, supported by expectations of tight supplies and stronger appetite for regional crude.

Spot premium for Murban reached $5.31 a barrel over the Dubai quotes on Monday, a level last seen in late February. While Oman’s premium to Dubai rose to $3.57 a barrel, an 11-month peak.

The price increases came as the market expected that OPEC+ is unlikely to tweak its oil output policy when a panel meets later this week.

The spread between Brent and Dubai is assessed at $3.10 a barrel, sharply higher than the average of $1.7 a barrel in September, suggesting cargoes from far afield are less economical for Asian buyers compared with crude from the Middle East.

OSP

The official selling price of a basket of September-loading Malaysian crude oil (MCO) grades OSP/MY has been set at $103.55 a barrel, a price document issued by state oil company Petronas showed.

SINGAPORE CASH DEALS

Cash Dubai’s premium to swaps fell 88 cents to $3.68 a barrel.

NEWS

OPEC is optimistic on demand and sees under-investment as a risk to energy security, Secretary General Haitham Al Ghais said on Monday at an energy industry event in Abu Dhabi.

Turkey will restart operations this week on a crude oil pipeline from Iraq that has been suspended for about six months, the Turkish energy minister, Alparslan Bayraktar, said on Monday.

Pakistani refiner Cnergyico CNER.PSX has imported the cash-strapped country’s first private-sector shipment of Russian crude oil, it said on Monday, as it takes advantage of Moscow’s discounts on its oil exports.

Daily ship crossings through the Panama Canal, one of the world’s main maritime trade routes, will be reduced to 31 from 32 to soften the impact from a severe drought that is expected to last until next year, authorities managing the canal said.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Muyu Xu; editing by Robert Birsel)