SINGAPORE- Middle East crude benchmarks Oman and Dubai fell on Monday, dragged lower by the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on demand.

Oil traders are awaiting a meeting this week of the world's top producers - including Saudi Arabia and Russia - to discuss output cuts that could alleviate oversupply in global markets, trade sources told Reuters on Monday. 

 

ASIA-PACIFIC CRUDE:

Russia's Sokol crude, which yields middle distillates, such as jet fuel and gasoil, fell to a record spot discount in the Asia market, two trade sources said on Monday.

Indian oil explorer ONGC Videsh sold one 700,000-barrel cargo of Russian Sokol crude for loading between June 2-8 at a discount of around $8 a barrel to Dubai quotes via a spot tender that was awarded last Friday, likely to a trader, the sources said.

That is the lowest price differential recorded, Refinitiv Eikon assessments dating back to 2011 show. 

Indonesia's state oil and gas company PT Pertamina produced 421,000 barrels of crude oil per day and 2,887 million cubic feet of gas per day (mmscfd) in the first quarter of 2020, it said in a statement on Monday.

 

REFINERY

Takeover target Caltex Australia Ltd on Monday said it would bring forward and extend the planned shutdown of its sole Lytton oil refinery in response to the slump in demand.

S.Korea's Hyundai Oilbank said it will shut No.2 CDU for maintenance from April 8 to May 21. 

 

NEWS

Saudi Arabia and Russia are "very, very close" to a deal on oil production cuts, Kirill Dmitriev, head of Russia's sovereign wealth fund, told CNBC on Monday. 

Saudi Arabia is taking unprecedented action in delaying the release of its international crude selling prices by five days, a senior Saudi source familiar with the matter said on Sunday, as the kingdom and other major producers seek to halt the global fall in crude prices. 

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday he could impose "very substantial tariffs" on oil imports if prices stayed low, but he did not expect he would need to, since neither Russia nor Saudi Arabia, which are locked in a battle for market share, would benefit from continued low prices. 

Kuwait supports Saudi Arabia's call to renew talks on cutting oil supply due later this week and hopes for a successful outcome to stabilise the oil market, Kuwait's oil minister said on Sunday.

United Arab Emirates supports Saudi Arabia's proposal to call for an emergency meeting of oil producers, Energy Minister Suhail al-Mazrouei said on Sunday. 

Iraq's oil minister is optimistic about reaching a new deal among producers to reduce oil output after phone calls with some of his OPEC+ counterparts, his ministry said in a statement on Sunday.

Rockets landed near a district that houses foreign workers in Iraq's oil industry early on Monday but caused no damage or casualties, oil and police sources said. 

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