Middle East crude benchmarks closed mixed on Tuesday, with Oman and Murban drifting lower while Dubai advancing on the back of robust trades at Platt’s Dubai partial window.

Spot premiums for Middle Eastern crude have significantly retreated from the high levels two weeks earlier, which were buoyed by the Israel-Hamas conflict.

As the war has not spilled over to a wider region and as there remained no sign of immediate ground invasion of Gaza by Israel, fears of physical oil supply disruption eased.

Meanwhile, the International Energy Agency (IEA) sees the current level of oil storage in member states sufficient to take action if required to stabilise oil markets, and sees no need to increase strategic reserve requirements, an official said on Tuesday.

World fossil fuel demand is set to peak by 2030 as more electric cars hit the road and China’s economy grows more slowly and shifts towards cleaner energy, the IEA said, undercutting the rationale for any rise in investment.

Chinese national offshore oil and gas major CNOOC Ltd., on Tuesday revised up its 2023 capital spending to a record on build-ing new production capacities, after reporting an 8.13% fall in third-quarter profit on lower realised oil prices.

The prospect of Exxon Mobil XOM.N or Chevron CVX.N buying European majors has receded after the two leading U.S. oil companies announced major acquisitions focused on the Americas this month, investors said.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Muyu Xu; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)