SINGAPORE- Middle East crude benchmarks Oman and Dubai fell on Monday on demand concerns, while Brent flipped into a discount to Dubai swaps for the first time since May. The Asia Pacific Petroleum Conference (APPEC), Asia's largest annual oil industry gathering, began on Monday in a virtual format. The Brent-Dubai crude's Exchange of Futures for Swaps (EFS) DUB-EFS-1M , a spread that allows oil traders to gauge the relative price strength of Brent-linked and Dubai-linked crude, dropped to negative 5 cents, from positive 11 cents last Friday, Refinitiv data showed. Qatar Petroleum (QP) has issued its monthly crude tender selling two cargoes of al-Shaheen crude, loading Nov. 1-2 and Nov. 27-28, and one cargo of November-loading Qatar Land crude. The tender will close on Tuesday with bids valid till Wednesday. Qp has also offered November-loading Low Sulphur Condensate in a tender closing on Tuesday with bids valid till Wednesday. Iraq has cut the official selling price (OSP) of its Basra Light crude for October cargoes to Asia, the United States and Europe, a document from state marketer SOMO showed on Sunday. REFINERY Australia on Monday proposed offering incentives worth A$2.3 billion ($1.67 billion) over 10 years to keep the country's four remaining oil refineries open and said it would invest in building fuel storage as part of a long-term fuel security plan. Indian Oil Corp will expand its petrochemicals capacity and integrate it with its textile business to help offset the impact of low refining margins, the chairman of India's largest refiner said on Monday. NEWS Global gasoline and diesel demand is expected to return to pre-pandemic levels by the end of next year, although a resurgence in COVID-19 cases would keep consumption fluctuating, several senior industry executives said on Monday. Fossil fuel consumption is set to shrink for the first time in modern history as climate policies boost renewable energy while the coronavirus epidemic leaves a lasting effect on global energy demand, BP said in a forecast. In 1973, Arab members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries brought the U.S. economy to its knees. Now, the cartel created 60 years ago is more likely to do Washington's bidding. Offshore platforms and one refinery along the U.S. Gulf Coast shut down on Sunday as they prepared for a second hurricane strike in less than a month. Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar has committed to ending a months-long blockade of oil facilities, the U.S. embassy in the country said in a statement on Saturday, but it was unclear if oil fields and ports would reopen. Brazil state-run oil company Petrobras has initiated the binding phase of the sale process for five oil exploration areas, as well as the divestment of its stakes in five power generation companies, it said in securities filings on Friday night. (Reporting By Shu Zhang; Editing by Maju Samuel) ((shu.zhang@thomsonreuters.com; +65-6870-3549; Reuters Messaging: Twitter @shuzhang4))
