SINGAPORE- Middle East crude benchmarks extended gains on Monday as tight supply persisted.
DME Oman's premium to swaps rose 36 cents to $3.46 a barrel, the highest since October, while cash Dubai's premium to swaps climbed 26 cents to $2.68 a barrel.
Brent's premium to Dubai quotes also rose 32 cents to $3.32 a barrel, making arbitrage supplies from the Atlantic Basin more expensive for Asian buyers.
MIDEAST CRUDE: Iran has set the official selling price (OSP) of its Iranian Light grade for buyers in Asia during June at a premium of $1.65 above the average of the Oman and Dubai price quotes for June, up 65 cents from the previous month, an industry source with direct knowledge of the matter said.
Kuwait raised the official selling prices (OSPs) for two crude grades it sells to Asia in June from May, a price document reviewed by Reuters showed.
The producer has set June Kuwait Export Crude (KEC) price at $1.15 a barrel above the average of Oman/Dubai quotes, up 45 cents from the previous month.
It also raised the June Kuwait Super Light Crude (KSLC) OSP to $2.60/bbl above Oman/Dubai quotes, up 80 cents.
ASIA-PACIFIC CRUDE: Malaysia's Kimanis crude exports will fall to three cargoes in July, down from eight in the previous month because of oilfield maintenance, a preliminary loading programme showed.
Two Kutubu cargoes will load in July with Oil Search marketing the cargo loading on July 10-14 while Exxon Mobil's cargo will load on July 26-30.
PV Oil offered one cargo each of Dai Hung and Ruby crude for loading in July via tenders.
SHIP ATTACK: Saudi Arabia said on Monday that two Saudi oil tankers were among vessels targeted by a "sabotage attack" off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, condemning it as an attempt to undermine the security of global crude supplies.
The UAE said on Sunday that four commercial vessels were sabotaged near Fujairah emirate, one of the world's largest bunkering hubs lying just outside the Strait of Hormuz. It did not say who was behind the operation, which took place amid heightened tensions between the United States and Iran.
NEWS
Production at Norway's Oseberg oil and gas field, whose crude is a part of global oil benchmark Brent, is expected to remain shut for eight days, longer than previously anticipated, the company said.
Occidental Petroleum Chief Executive Vicki Hollub on Friday touted her $38 billion deal for Anadarko Petroleum Corp and defended the pricey terms she negotiated in a 90-minute session with billionaire investor Warren Buffett to secure the deal without seeking shareholder approval.
The Houston Ship Channel was reopened with restrictions to shipping on Sunday as officials worked to recover thousands of barrels of gasoline spilled into the waterway following a collision between a tanker and two barges.
Russia's energy ministry said on Friday that tankers were being loaded with clean oil at the Baltic port of Ust-Luga after oil imports via its Druzhba pipeline were halted due to contamination.
(Reporting by Florence Tan; Editing by Rashmi Aich) ((Florence.Tan@thomsonreuters.com; +65 6870 3497; Reuters Messaging: florence.tan.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
