SINGAPORE- Middle East crude benchmarks fell on Thursday though Shell continued its buying spree of cash Dubai partials and converted them to two August-loading Upper Zakum cargoes, trade sources said.

The Brent-Dubai EFS widened to $3.63 a barrel on Thursday from $2.90 a barrel on the last trading session on Tuesday, data from Refinitiv Eikon showed.

NORTH WEST SHELF

* Australia's North West Shelf (NWS) condensate exports will hold steady at four cargoes in August from the previous month, two industry sources said on Thursday. 

SINGAPORE

* Royal Dutch Shell has increased the storage capacity at its Bukom refinery in Singapore by nearly 1.3 million barrels by building two crude oil tanks, the company said on Thursday. 

Shell said the project was part of its ongoing effort to improve competitiveness by investing in storage and logistics at its core refineries.

 

WINDOW:

* Shell bought all 23 Dubai cash partials on Thursday, continuing its buying spree.

* Petrodiamond Singapore declared a cargo of August Upper Zakum crude to Shell following the convergence of 20 partials in Platts cash Dubai while Unipec declared a cargo of August Upper Zakum crude to Shell, traders said.

 

NEWS

* Lukoil, Russia's second-biggest oil producer, plans to propose that Moscow extend its participation in a global oil production-cutting deal at existing terms to the end of this year, its chief executive Vagit Alekperov told Reuters. 

* U.S. refiners warned the Trump administration that tariffs on imports from Mexico could deliver a punishing blow to refiners and raise the cost of gasoline just as the U.S. driving season kicks into high gear, according to sources familiar with the discussions. 

* Increasing trade tensions and a broader economic slowdown, along with falling oil demand, will overtake supply shortages and lead to lower oil prices, Morgan Stanley said in a research note.

* Igor Sechin, CEO of Russian oil giant Rosneft, accused the United States of using energy as a political weapon and said on Thursday that the U.S. golden age of energy had become an "era of energy colonialism" for other countries. 

* Oil demand needs to halve, gas use must drop by 10% and coal use needs to be all but eradicated by 2050 to achieve the goals of the Paris agreement to limit global warming, oil company Equinor said in its energy outlook on Thursday.

* U.S. crude stockpiles posted another unexpected build last week, sending oil prices 4% lower, while gasoline and distillate inventories grew more than forecast, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday.

(Reporting by Jessica Jaganathan; editing by Uttaresh.V) ((Jessica.Jaganathan@thomsonreuters.com; +65 6870 3822; Reuters Messaging: jessica.jaganathan.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net; Twitter: https://twitter.com/j3ssi3))