SINGAPORE- Middle East crude benchmarks were mixed on Wednesday as Oman's premium edged up, while cash Dubai's premium dipped.
Taiwanese refiner Formosa Petrochemical closed a tender to buy Oman crude for April loading although the result was not immediately known.
RUSSIA: Russia's Surgutneftegaz has sold five ESPO crude cargoes loading in March at lower premiums than its previous deal after price benchmark Dubai became relatively more expensive than Brent, trade sources said.
Surgut sold the cargoes at $2.70 to $2.90 a barrel above Dubai quotes, they said. Surgut offered cargoes for loading from March 8-12, 12-16, 16-20, 22-26 and 27-31.
Buyers include Vitol, BP, Equinor, Lukoil and Unipec, the sources said.
Surgut last sold March-loading ESPO at premiums of about $3.20 a barrel.
Separately, Paramount Energy also sold its remaining four cargoes loading in March at similar premiums to Surgut's latest tender, two sources familiar with the matter said. The cargoes are for loading from March 10-16, 14-20, 20-27 and 24-31.
The ESPO Blend crude oil loading plan from Russia's Pacific port of Kozmino has been set at 2.64 million tonnes for March versus 2.4 million tonnes planned for loading in February, a schedule seen by Reuters showed.
On a daily basis exports in March will stay unchanged from February levels, according to Reuters calculations. February is three days shorter than March.
REFINERY
Indian Oil Corp Ltd (IOC) reported a near 91 percent slump in quarterly profit as a fall in global crude prices took a toll on margins of oil refiners and marketing companies.
NEWS
More than 24 hours after the United States announced large-scale sanctions on Venezuela's nationally owned oil company, merchant trading firms and refiners were still deciphering what the measures prohibited.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) has yet to assess the impact of the latest U.S. sanctions on Venezuelan oil supplies, its executive director said.
South Korea's purchases of U.S. oil and gas this year will hold to the rapid pace set in 2018, likely narrowing its trade surplus with the world's top economy further and bolstering its ties to Washington.
Indonesian oil and gas group Medco said it will buy Ophir Energy Plc for a sweetened bid of 390.6 million pounds ($511.02 million) in cash, as it looks to strengthen its portfolio of assets in Southeast Asia.
Libya's biggest oilfield, El Sharara, will remain shut until an armed group occupying the site leaves, the head of National Oil Corp (NOC) said on Tuesday, more than a month after the field closed because of protests.
(Reporting by Florence Tan; editing by David Evans) ((Florence.Tan@thomsonreuters.com; +65 6870 3497; Reuters Messaging: florence.tan.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))0#C-A ))
