Middle East crude benchmark spot premiums for Oman, Dubai and Murban all declined on Thursday, while investors are awaiting the outcome from OPEC+’s meeting later in the day.

OPEC+ is likely to extend its latest round of oil production cuts by at least three months from January when it meets online at 1100 GMT on Thursday, OPEC+ sources told Reuters, to provide additional support for the oil market.

SINGAPORE CASH DEALS

Cash Dubai’s premium to swaps fell 28 cents to $0.93 a barrel.

Vitol will deliver a February Oman crude cargo to TotalEnergies following the deals.

ExxonMobil will deliver a February Upper Zakum crude cargo to TotalEnergies following the deals.

NEWS

Shell SHEL.L and Norway’s Equinor EQNR.OL will merge their British offshore oil and gas assets into an equal joint venture, they announced on Thursday.

Three trading houses have become dominant sellers of Russian oil to India as many smaller players dropped out of the business due to high funding costs in Russia and lack of access to Western funds, according to data and six trading sources.

Igor Sechin, the head of Russia’s largest oil producer Rosneft ROSN.MM, said on Thursday that the OPEC+ group’s decisions to reduce oil output in 2016 and 2020 helped the U.S. shale industry and made it a leading global energy exporter.

Russian crude oil flows to the Czech Republic through the Druzhba pipeline remained halted on Thursday, refiner Unipetrol PKN.WA said.

Shell SHEL.L is stepping back from new offshore wind investments and is splitting its power division following an extensive review of the business that was once seen as a key driver of the company’s energy transition strategy.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Siyi Liu in Singapore; Editing by Vijay Kishore)