Middle East crude benchmarks Dubai and Oman fell for a second consecutive session, while the Brent/Dubai EFS spread for August narrowed sharply on Friday.
Benchmarks Dubai and Oman softened as selling interest persisted, with four more cargoes delivered.
Meanwhile, Brent crude’s premium to Dubai crunched to 58-60 cents a barrel at the Asia close (0830 GMT) on Friday, based on Refinitiv data and broking sources.
The spread has extended declines to its lowest since December 2020, historical data showed.
RUSSIAN CRUDE
Indian state-run refiner BPCL is in talks with Rosneft to buy about 6 million metric tons (43.8 million barrels) of discounted Russian crude, at a price based on the Dubai benchmark, according to three sources with direct knowledge of the matter.
The deal would deepen India’s commitment to its now-biggest oil supplier in the wake of Western sanctions on Moscow and mark a continued shift by Rosneft to pricing its oil against the Middle Eastern benchmark used in Asia and away from the Europe-dominated Brent.
SINGAPORE CASH DEALS
Cash Dubai’s premium to swaps fell to $1.57 a barrel.
Unipec delivered two cargoes of Oman crude to Totsa and one cargo of Oman crude to PetroChina on Friday, while Gunvor delivered one cargo of Oman crude to PetroChina.
The tally for overall August-loading deliveries so far in June stand at 52 cargoes.
NEWS
Italy’s Eni and its Norwegian unit Vaar have agreed to buy private equity-backed Neptune Energy in a deal valuing the assets of the gas and oil producer at $4.9 billion including debt, the two groups said on Friday.
Muted increases in U.S. oil production and cuts by the OPEC+ producing-nations group will limit crude supply in the months ahead, pushing up prices, an executive at U.S. shale producer EOG Resources said.
U.S. crude stocks posted a surprise draw in the last week, helped by strong export demand and low imports, while gasoline and distillate inventories rose, the Energy Information Administration said on Thursday.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Jeslyn Lerh; Editing by Sonia Cheema)