SINGAPORE- Middle East crude benchmarks were mixed on Monday, with Dubai supported by firm demand from Total, Gunvor and Shell on Platts window.

Spot trade for sour grades slowed as several refiners have bought their cargoes last week.

 

ASIA-PACIFIC CRUDE

Petroleum Brunei has sold two Kimanis cargoes for October loading to Vitol at 10 to 30 cents a barrel above its official selling price, traders said.

ConocoPhillips has sold an October-loading Kimanis crude cargo to Ampol likely at about $2.50 a barrel above dated Brent, one of the traders said. A second trader said the premium might have been higher.

For Pacific grades, Oil Search has sold two October-loading Kutubu crude cargoes at premiums between 50 cents and $1 a barrel to dated Brent to Hengyi Petroleum and Exxon Mobil, traders said. Exxon has also bought October-loading Cossack crude at parity to a small premium to dated Brent, they said.

Total and Inpex may have sold October-loading Ichthys condensate at premiums between $1.50 and $2 a barrel to dated Brent, one of the traders said.

Trade for October-loading regional condensate cargoes remain muted as naphtha margins have weakened.

Petronas closed last week a tender to sell 300,000 barrels of Muda condensate for Oct. 3-9 loading although the result was not immediately known yet.

 

REFINERY

Australia's top fuel supplier Ampol Ltd made a NZ$1.97 billion ($1.34 billion) takeover bid for New Zealand peer Z Energy, valuing it at a 24% premium to its last closing price, the companies said on Monday. 

 

NEWS

Iran said on Monday it is ready to ship more fuel to Lebanon if needed, a day after the leader of Lebanon's Iran-aligned Hezbollah group said more vessels carrying Iranian fuel would sail soon to help ease the country's fuel shortage. 

U.S. energy firms this week added oil and natural gas rigs for a third week in a row, as a recovery in oil prices prompted some drillers to return to the wellpad over the past year. 

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is expected to recommend to the White House reducing federal biofuel blending mandates for 2021 to below 2020 levels in what would be a blow to the biofuels industry, two sources familiar with the matter said on Friday. 

(Reporting by Florence Tan; Editing by Rashmi Aich) ((Florence.Tan@thomsonreuters.com; Reuters Messaging: florence.tan.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))