SINGAPORE- Middle East crude benchmarks eased on Tuesday while the spot premium for Russian ESPO gained thanks to robust demand from China.
Russia's Gazprom has sold 740,000 barrels of September-loading ESPO crude at a premium of around $5.50 a barrel above Dubai quotes, the highest in nine months, three trade sources said on Tuesday.
This was higher than the $5.30-$5.40 a barrel seen in Surgutneftegaz's tender earlier.
For Middle East crude, Thailand's PTT did not award a tender to buy September-loading crude.
A sharply narrower discount for Murban may have sidelined buyers, a trader said. "The price is very high compared with a week ago so I suppose they are reluctant to buy. Demand is not so strong this month ... prices could soften."
Spot demand from Taiwan's CPC also fell as it bought only one Upper Zakum cargo compared with four in the previous month.
CPC bought the Upper Zakum cargo at 20 cents a barrel below its official selling price (OSP).
ASIA-PACIFIC CRUDE: Malaysian crude premiums stayed firm as Petronas has sold a September-loading Labuan cargo at a premium close to $6 a barrel to dated Brent, traders said.
ARBITRAGE: Vietnam's Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical will import 2 million to 3 million barrels of U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude in the second half of this year for its Dung Quat refinery, a company executive said on Tuesday.
TENDERS
Vietnam's PV Oil offered to sell 250,000 barrels of Thang Long in a tender to close on July 30, with bids valid until Aug. 7. The cargo is to load on Sept. 1-5.
Australia's BHP offered to sell 550,000 barrels of Pyrenees in a tender to close on July 25, with bids valid until the same date. The cargo is due to load on Sept. 29 - Oct.3.
REFINERY
JXTG Holdings, Japan's biggest oil refiner, said on Tuesday it plans to close a 115,000 barrel per day (bpd) Osaka refinery that it owns with PetroChina next year, amid falling demand for crude products in Japan.
Asian refining margins for gasoil have climbed to their highest in eight months as some regional refinery issues and run cuts have tightened supplies, while firmer domestic demand in South Korea has led to a drop in exports from the country.
NEWS
The United States has imposed sanctions on China's state-run energy company Zhuhai Zhenrong Co Ltd for allegedly violating restrictions Iran's oil sector, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Monday.
Britain called on Monday for a European-led naval mission to ensure safe shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, days after Iran seized a British-flagged tanker in what London described as an act of "state piracy" in the strategic waterway.
China's gasoline and diesel exports rose in June from a month earlier, customs data showed on Tuesday, as a domestic fuel glut encourages state refiners to sell cargoes abroad.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has asked his government to justify giving tax breaks to Russian oil major Rosneft for developing a Siberian oilfield, a document published on the Kremlin website showed.
Norway's Petroleum Directorate confirmed on Tuesday an oil discovery by Aker BP AKERBP.OL in the northeast of the Alvheim field in the North Sea, in an area nicknamed NOAKA that contains several other hydrocarbon finds.
(Reporting By Shu Zhang and Florence Tan; editing by Gopakumar Warrier) ((shu.zhang@thomsonreuters.com; +65-6870-3549; Reuters Messaging: shu.zhang.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net; Twitter @shuzhang4))
