SINGAPORE- Middle East crude market strengthened further on Wednesday after grades such as al-Shaheen, Basra Heavy and Sokol traded at multi-month high premiums.

A jump in Brent's premium to Dubai quotes DUB-EFS-1M and robust demand in Asia are supporting spot differentials for Middle East and Russian crude.

Brent's premium to Dubai quotes rose 34 cents to $2.20 a barrel.

QATAR: Qatar Petroleum has sold three al-Shaheen crude cargoes loading in June at the highest premiums in seven months, trade sources said.

The cargoes were sold at premiums ranging from $1.35 to $1.55 a barrel to Dubai quotes, they said.

End-users from Thailand and Japan and an oil major may have bought the cargoes, the sources said.

Two of the cargoes, loading on June 20-21 and June 25-26, were awarded via a tender, while one was sold based on private negotiations, they said.

The premiums are the highest since November-loading cargoes were sold in September at an average premium of $1.55 a barrel, according to Reuters data.

 

IRAQ: SOMO has sold 2 million barrels of Basra Heavy crude for loading on May 28-30 to Unipec at a premium just above $2 a barrel to its official selling price (OSP) via a tender, the highest premium in months. The cargo does not have a fixed destination.

OMAN: Taiwan's Formosa Petrochemical has bought two June-loading Oman crude cargoes at about $1.50 a barrel above Dubai quotes, traders said.

 

KOREA: KNOC issued two tenders seeking to swap Basra Light crude delivered from its tanks in second quarter in return for cargoes to be delivered in third quarter next year. Trafigura was heard to have won one of the tenders, a trader said.

RUSSIA: ONGC has sold a third Russian Sokol crude cargo for June loading via a tender, trade sources said.

ONGC sold the 700,000-barrel cargo loading on June 20-26 to Shell at a premium of about $4.30 a barrel to Dubai quotes, the highest premium in four months, they said, up from earlier deals at premiums of $3.50-$3.70 a barrel. SOK-DUB

 

VIETNAM: PV Oil issued a tender selling Hai Thach condensate supplies loading in the second half of 2019.

 

REFINERY

Saudi Aramco, the world's largest crude oil producer, is in "serious discussions" to acquire up to a 25 percent stake in Reliance Industries' refining and petrochemicals businesses, the Times of India reported on Wednesday.

Refinery output in China, the world's second-largest oil consumer, eased from record highs in March after maintenance shutdowns offset production from a new mega refinery. 

 

NEWS

Iraq has exported 3.25 million barrels per day (bpd) from its southern ports so far this month, two oil industry sources said. 

Turkey expects the United States to extend a waiver granted to Ankara to continue oil purchases from Iran without violating U.S. sanctions, Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said. 

Gazprom Neft, the oil arm of Russian gas giant Gazprom, expects the global oil deal between OPEC and its allies to end in the first half of the year, a company official said on Tuesday.

Portugal declared an "energy crisis" on Tuesday after a strike by fuel truck drivers hit the country, forcing the government to order striking workers to get back on the road immediately as airports resorted to emergency reserves. 

(Reporting by Florence Tan; Editing by Uttaresh.V) ((Florence.Tan@thomsonreuters.com; +65 6870 3497; Reuters Messaging: florence.tan.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))