SINGAPORE- Middle East crude benchmark Oman differential fell on the last day of the January-loading trade cycle while Dubai differential held steady.

Strong demand for spot crude has pushed up November's average for both differentials by around 80 cents a barrel from last month, data compiled by Reuters showed.

The official selling price (OSP) for Oman crude in January will rise by $2.72 to $43.83 a barrel, Reuters calculations based on data from the Dubai Mercantile Exchange (DME) showed.

Top oil exporter Saudi Arabia is expected to raise its OSPs for Asian buyers in January, tracking stronger benchmark prices as some refiners increase output to meet higher winter demand, a Reuters survey showed. 

Six sources at Asian refiners expect the January OSP for Saudi flagship crude grade Arab Light to rise by 65 cents a barrel on average, with their forecasts ranging between an increase of 50 cents and 85 cents.

 

NEWS

OPEC+ members will consider whether to extend existing oil cuts for three to four months or to gradually increase output from January during their two days of talks that start on Monday, OPEC+ sources told Reuters. 

There are not the same strong differences between Russia and the OPEC oil group as had been the case in early 2020, a Kremlin spokesman said on Monday, as leading oil producers debate the future of their deal on output cuts. 

A surge in COVID-19 cases in the winter season will not derail the oil market rebalancing driven mainly by vaccine progress, Goldman Sachs said in a note, adding it sees a further upside in Brent to $65 per barrel through 2021.

The Trump administration is poised to add China's top chipmaker SMIC and national offshore oil and gas producer CNOOC to a blacklist of alleged Chinese military companies, according to a document and sources, curbing their access to U.S. investors and escalating tensions with Beijing weeks before President-elect Joe Biden takes office.

A rocket hit a small oil refinery in northern Iraq on Sunday, causing a fire at a fuel storage tank and forcing a complete shutdown of operations after the blaze spread to a nearby pipeline network, two refinery officials said.

(Reporting by Shu Zhang, editing by Aditya Soni) ((shu.zhang@thomsonreuters.com; +65-6870-3549; Reuters Messaging: Twitter @shuzhang4))