SINGAPORE- Middle East crude benchmarks Oman and Dubai rose on Thursday, as trading activities picked up for the August cycle.

The July/August Dubai spread was pegged at a backwardation of 10 cents a barrel, widening from 2 cents a barrel a day earlier, Refinitiv data showed.

Qatar Petroleum sold two August-loading cargoes of al-Shaheen crude at an average premium of $1.56 a barrel to Dubai quotes via its monthly spot tender, traders said.

The buyers of the two 500,000-barrel cargoes were likely Mitsui and Cosmo, they said, who paid spot premiums of around $1.40 and $1.70, respectively.

Iraq's SOMO offered 1 million barrels of Basra Light crude, loading July 29-31, in a tender closing next Monday.

Thailand's IRPC closed a tender on Thursday seeking sour crude for delivery over August 20-September 10.

Taiwan's CPC is due to award a tender on Friday for August-loading sour crude.

 

ASIA-PACIFIC CRUDE:

 

Malaysia's Petronas offered 300,000 barrels each of Bunga Kekwa crude, loading Aug 8-14, and Bunga Orkid crude, loading Aug 1-7, in tenders closing on Friday with bids valid until next Monday.

Petronas also offered 300,000 barrels of Bertam crude loading August 1-5 in a tender closing next Monday.

PV Oil has sold August-loading Su Tu Den crude at spot premiums of above $3 a barrel to dated Brent to a Chinese buyer, traders said.

 

RUSSIAN CRUDE:

 

Russian oil producer Surgutneftegaz sold two cargoes of ESPO crude for loading during Aug. 16-23 and Aug. 20-27 at higher premiums of around $3.80-$3.85 a barrel to Dubai quotes to Vitol and Zhenhua, traders said. 

Surgut offered two more ESPO crude cargoes loading August 23-30 and August 26-31 in a tender closing on Thursday.

 

NEWS

The world faces an oil surplus in 2020 even as demand gradually recovers and record supply cuts by producers help rebalance the market, according to OPEC forecasts on Wednesday.

U.S. crude stocks rose unexpectedly last week, while gasoline and distillate inventories fell, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday.

The International Energy Agency set out an energy sector roadmap on Thursday for governments to spur economic growth and cut carbon emissions that would require a $1 trillion annual investment over the next three years. 

U.S. shale producers are expected to restore roughly half a million barrels per day of crude output by the end of June, according to crude buyers and analysts, amounting to a quarter of what they shut since the coronavirus pandemic cut fuel demand and hammered oil prices.

Sakhalin Energy, the international operator of a pioneering liquefied natural gas plant in eastern Russia, said on Thursday authorities have extended its oil and gas production licences, which were due to expire in 2021, for five years.

(Reporting By Shu Zhang; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri) ((shu.zhang@thomsonreuters.com; +65-6870-3549; Reuters Messaging: Twitter @shuzhang4))