SINGAPORE- Middle East crude benchmarks increased on Thursday on brisk trading activity in the Platts window.

WINDOW: Cash Dubai edged higher by 55 cents a barrel from the previous session. Fifty-two Dubai and Oman cash partials exchanged hands with Unipec the main seller and PetroChina Hong Kong the main buyer, trade sources said.

Three cargoes were declared for delivery. Unipec declared two cargoes of Upper Zakum to PetroChina and a cargo of Oman crude to BP, one source said.

 

MALAYSIA

Malaysia's Kimanis crude oil exports will drop to nine cargoes in February, compared with 10 for January, industry sources said. Seller Grade Volume Loading date Petronas Kimanis 600KB Feb 1-5 PetroBrunei Kimanis 600KB Feb 4-8 ConocoPhillips Kimanis 600KB Feb 7-11 Petronas Kimanis 600KB Feb 10-14 Shell Kimanis 600KB Feb 13-17 Petronas Kimanis 600KB Feb 16-20 ConocoPhillips Kimanis 600KB Feb 19-23 Shell Kimanis 600KB Feb 22-26 Petronas Kimanis 600KB Feb 25-March 1

PRICES ($/BBL)

CURRENT PREV SESSION DME OMAN 58.97 59.63 DME OMAN DIFF TO DUBAI 0.59 0.55 CASH DUBAI 58.75 59.30

NEWS

* The global oil market could move into deficit sooner than expected thanks to OPEC's output agreement with Russia and to Canada's decision to cut supply, the International Energy Agency said. 

* PetroChina Co struck sizeable oil and gas flows in an exploration well in the Tarim basin of the remote northwestern region of Xinjiang, a breakthrough in exploring an earlier untapped region, parent CNPC said. 

* Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said on Wednesday that, because of U.S. sanctions, India had refused to allow a Russian-owned Indian refinery to use Iranian crude oil that India had obtained under waivers. 

* Thailand's PTT Exploration and Production Pcl has won the production and development rights for the Erawan and Bongkot petroleum concessions in the Gulf of Thailand, Energy Minister Siri Jirapongphan said. 

* Hess Corp said on Wednesday it expects oil and gas output to grow more than 10 percent a year compounded through 2025, touting development of its Bakken shale and offshore Guyana projects. 

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