SINGAPORE- Middle East crude benchmarks Oman and Dubai fell for a second straight session on Wednesday, as traders awaited an OPEC+ meeting on potential extension of output cuts.

Saudi Aramco is expected to release its monthly official selling prices after the OPEC+ meeting, traders said.

The Brent-Dubai crude's Exchange of Futures for Swaps (EFS) DUB-EFS-1M narrowed to 41 cents a barrel at the Singapore market's close, from 43 cents on Tuesday, Refinitiv data showed.

 

REFINERY

Hyundai Oilbank, South Korea's smallest refiner by capacity, plans to raise its run rates to about 90% from July on expectations of fuel demand recovery, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said on Wednesday.

Japanese oil refiner Idemitsu Kosan Co plans to shut the 150,000 barrels per day crude distillation unit (CDU) at its Hokkaido refinery in northern Japan for regular maintenance in mid-June for about three months, a company spokesman said on Wednesday. 

 

NEWS

China's oil demand has recovered to more than 90% of the levels seen before the COVID-19 pandemic struck early this year, a surprisingly robust rebound that could be mirrored elsewhere in the third quarter as more countries emerge from lockdowns. 

The Trump administration believes ahead of an expected OPEC+ meeting this week that major oil producers such as Saudi Arabia and Russia will honour their pledges to cut crude production and will not damage the global economy by changing course, a senior official said on Tuesday. 

Oil rose on Wednesday, topping $40 a barrel for the first time since March, supported by lower U.S. inventories, expectations OPEC+ will keep oil output cuts in place and signs of demand recovery from the coronavirus crisis. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2DG0QE

U.S. shale oil producers are beginning to reverse production cuts as prices recover from historic lows, underscoring shale's ability to quickly adjust to pricing and posing a challenge to OPEC as it considers extending production curbs. 

Venezuela's oil exports plummeted in May to their lowest level since 2003 as U.S. sanctions choked exports and two Mexican firms that had acted as intermediaries for Venezuelan crude sales stopped receiving oil, Refinitiv Eikon data and internal shipping documents from state-run energy company PDVSA showed. 

The U.S. Treasury Department on Tuesday said it had sanctioned four shipping firms for transporting Venezuelan oil, the latest escalation in Washington's effort to oust socialist President Nicolas Maduro by cutting off the OPEC nation's crude exports. 

(Reporting By Shu Zhang; editing by Uttaresh.V) ((shu.zhang@thomsonreuters.com; +65-6870-3549; Reuters Messaging: Twitter @shuzhang4))