SINGAPORE- Middle East crude benchmarks Oman and Dubai slipped on Tuesday, while spot trade remained muted as traders await monthly prices from producers.

Top oil exporter Saudi Arabia is expected to raise prices across various grades of crude oil it sells to Asia in September for a second straight month, tracking the strength in Middle East benchmarks, trade sources said. 

The September official selling price (OSP) for Arab Light crude may rise by 36 cents a barrel on average after hitting a 17-month high in August, a Reuters survey of sources at six Asian refineries showed. Asia's demand for light crude is robust, supported by strong margins for gasoline and naphtha.

Saudi Aramco is expected to announce its September OSPs later this week.

REFINERY

Essar Oil UK Limited, operator of Britain's Stanlow oil refinery, said on Monday it had appointed Deepak Maheshwari as its chief executive officer. 

More oil refineries are expected to shut down as profit margins take longer to recover to pre-pandemic levels and as the world faces a large excess in refining capacity, BP Chief Financial Officer Murray Auchincloss said. 

 

NEWS

Iran will respond promptly to any threat against its security, the foreign ministry said on Monday, after the United States, Israel and Britain blamed Tehran for an attack on an Israeli-managed tanker off the coast of Oman. 

Saudi Aramco and other Gulf oil producers are following in the footsteps of Abu Dhabi with plans to raise tens of billions of dollars through sales of stakes in energy assets, capitalising on a rebound in crude prices to attract foreign investors. 

U.S. crude and product inventories likely declined last week with both distillates and gasoline stockpiles predicted to have fallen for a third straight week, a preliminary Reuters poll showed on Monday. 

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