SINGAPORE- Middle East crude benchmarks Dubai and Murban edged down on Tuesday, but Oman crept higher for a fifth straight session.

Robust demand for March-loading cargoes have buoyed spot premiums by more than $1 a barrel for Middle East and Russian grades.

Qatar Energy may have sold three March-loading al-Shaheen cargoes at premiums of $2.80-$2.90 a barrel to Dubai quotes, traders said, up from an average of $1.57 a barrel in the previous month. Japan's top refiner ENEOS bought one of the cargoes, they said.

Prior to the tender, the grade was sold at premiums of between $2.10 and $2.90 a barrel to Dubai quotes, they said. Qatar Energy is also expected to award another tender to sell a March-loading Marine crude cargo.

Chinese refiner Rongsheng Petrochemical may have bought at least two VLCCs of Iraqi and Abu Dhabi crude, traders said, underpinning demand. Thai refiner IRPC is expected to award its tender later on Tuesday.

 

ASIA-PACIFIC CRUDE

Petroleum Brunei has sold its March-loading Kimanis crude cargo to Ampol at a premium of about $1 a barrel to its official selling price, traders said. The high premium comes on the back of tighter Kimanis supplies over February and March due to an unplanned maintenance.

 

RUSSIAN CRUDE

Spot premiums for Russian ESPO crude rose by more than $1 a barrel on Monday amid improved demand from Asian buyers, trade sources said. 

Surgutneftegaz sold two cargoes loading Feb. 28-March 5 and March 3-8 at premiums of about $4.90 a barrel to Dubai quotes, they said on Monday.

Trading companies Mitsui and Vitol bought the cargoes, traders said.

Surgutneftegaz issued a spot tender to sell three more cargoes loading from Kozmino during March 6-13, March 10-17 and March 14-21. The tender closes on Jan. 18 at 1400 Moscow time (1100 GMT).

Fellow producer Sakhalin Energy has offered three cargoes for April loading in a tender to close on Jan. 20.

 

REFINERY

Australia's Ampol Ltd on Tuesday said its Lytton Refinery in Queensland is expected to deliver the highest profit for more than four years in its quarterly result. 

 

NEWS

Goldman Sachs expects oil prices hitting $100 per barrel in the second half of this year, citing a lower-than-expected hit to demand from the Omicron coronavirus variant coupled with increased supply disruptions and OPEC+ shortfalls. 

Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi group attacked the United Arab Emirates in what it said was an operation using missiles and drones, setting off explosions in fuel trucks that killed three people and causing a fire near the airport of Abu Dhabi, capital of the region's commercial and tourism hub. 

Saudi Arabia’s planned purchase of Polish refining assets is set to put OPEC's top producer in charge of two thirds of Poland's oil supply, eroding previously dominant supplier Russia's leverage as it grapples with regional tension. 

China's diesel exports in December slumped to 330,000 tonnes, the lowest monthly level since March 2015, amid diminishing export quotas and as refiners curbed runs in response to a slowdown in domestic demand, data showed on Tuesday.

U.S. refiners and biofuel companies are likely to reach less than half the renewable diesel production projected by the U.S. government for 2025 due to policy and feedstock constraints, according to a study released Tuesday from consultancy Cerulogy. 

(Reporting by Florence Tan; Editing by Amy Caren Daniel) ((Florence.Tan@thomsonreuters.com; Reuters Messaging: florence.tan.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))