SINGAPORE- Trade on the Middle East crude window heated up on Monday with PetroChina Hong Kong snapping up 39 February Dubai partials from Unipec.

The trades led to the delivery of one Upper Zakum cargo from Unipec to PetroChina HK.

UAE: Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (ADNOC) awarded Chinese state oil company Zhenhua Oil a 4 percent stake in its onshore oil concession, previously held by debt-laden CEFC China Energy Co. Ltd, it said in a statement on Sunday. 

As part of the new stake transfer, Zhenhua Oil took over CEFC's existing term contracts in 2018 and 2019 and operations for Murban crude oil on Nov. 29, two people with knowledge of the matter said.

CEFC had lifted on average four cargoes, or a total 2 million of Murban crude, each month, one of the people said.

CEFC sold its Murban supplies in 2018 to Shell, Total and Vitol and has already inked new contracts for 2019 supplies. It was not immediately clear who are the buyers for 2019.

SAUDI ARABIA: At least two refiners have received full contract volumes of Saudi oil to load in January although it remained to be seen if this could change following Friday's deal between OPEC and non-OPEC producers to reduce output.

Saudi Arabia's crude oil exports are expected to drop next month by about 1 million barrels per day (bpd) from November levels, two sources familiar with the matter said on Saturday.

 

TENDERS

ONGC has sold a cargo of Russian Sokol crude cargo at a similar premium from the previous month, trade sources said.

The cargo, loading between Feb. 10 and Feb. 16, was sold to a European trading house at a premium of $4.80 a barrel above Dubai quotes, they said.

The deal marked the first February Sokol cargo to trade this month. The premium surprised the sources as they were expecting Sokol premiums to fall in line with other light sour grades sold to Asia and to reflect weaker refining margins. 

 

REFINERY

Indonesia's Pertamina on Monday said it had appointed South Korea's SK Engineering & Construction Co. Ltd and Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co. Ltd as engineering and construction contractors for its Balikpapan refinery upgrade. 

Pertamina has also signed a framework agreement with Oman's Overseas Oil and Gas LLC (OOG) to develop a new $10 billion refinery and petrochemical complex in Bontang, also on the island of Borneo.

Once completed, OOG is expected to supply 300,000 barrels per day of crude oil to the refinery.

NEWS

OPEC and its Russia-led allies agreed on Friday to slash oil production by more than the market had expected despite pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump to reduce the price of crude. 

China's imports of crude oil hit a fresh monthly high in November, customs data showed on Saturday, beating the record set in October on heavy buying from private refiners and trial starts of new mega-refineries. 

Libya's National Oil Co (NOC) has declared force majeure on exports from the El Sharara oil field, it said on Monday, after tribesmen and state security guards seized the facility.

Nigeria's oil minister expects a final investment decision (FID) on its Bonga Southwest offshore oilfield by February next year, he said on Friday on the sidelines of an OPEC meeting. 

A Gulf Arab summit called for regional unity as Bahrain and Qatar traded barbs over the Qatari emir's decision not to attend the gathering in Saudi Arabia on Sunday in a sign that a row between Doha and its neighbours is still festering. 

Trafigura Group reported its lowest annual net profit in eight years on Monday as a drop in oil trading margins offset a strong performance by its metals and minerals division. 

London-based oil trader Arcadia Petroleum, owned by shipping magnate John Fredriksen, has appointed two long-time North Sea traders as co-heads of energy trading, the company said in a statement on Friday. 

(Reporting by Florence Tan, Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips) ((Florence.Tan@thomsonreuters.com; +65 6870 3497; Reuters Messaging: florence.tan.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))outright prices 0#C-A ))