Middle East crude benchmark Dubai advanced on Friday, snapping five straight sessions of decline.

The flow of Asia’s spot Middle East crude oil trade deals slowed this week after refiners’ margins hit multi-month lows, curbing buyers’ appetite for incremental supplies, according to trade and refining sources.

Chinese state oil giants and major private refiners are sweeping up more Russian crude, supporting prices and forcing smaller independents to seek out cheap alternatives such as Iranian oil, according to trade sources and shipping data.

CHINA

Russia maintained its position as China’s top oil supplier in March, Chinese government data showed on Friday, as buyers continued to snap up sanctioned ESPO and Urals shipments at steep discounts.

Arrivals from Russia totalled a record of 9.61 million tonnes in March, or 2.26 million barrels per day (bpd), up 50% from 1.50 million bpd in the corresponding 2022 period, according to data from the General Administration of Customs.

SINGAPORE CASH DEALS

Cash Dubai’s premium to swaps gained 19 cents to $1.65 a barrel.

Reliance will deliver a June-loading Upper Zakum to Vitol following the trade. PetroChina will deliver one June-loading Upper Zakum each to Vitol and Glencore.

NEWS

Several Asian petrochemical producers plan to switch a portion of their feedstock from naphtha to cheaper liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) late in the second quarter as the price gap between the two fuels has widened, refinery and trade sources said.

Pakistan has placed its first order for discounted Russian crude oil under a deal struck between Islamabad and Moscow, the country’s petroleum minister said, with one cargo to dock at the port of Karachi in May.

Italian oil company Eni ENI is drilling its Raia-1 well located in Block A5-A of the Angoche Basin offshore Mozambique, a spokesperson said on Thursday.
Source: Reuters