SINGAPORE- Middle East crude benchmarks Oman and Dubai were mixed on Thursday, while traders awaited more producers to release monthly prices before kicking off physical trade.

Top oil exporter Saudi Arabia raised the September official selling prices (OSPs) for the flagship Arab light crude to $3 a barrel above the Oman/Dubai average for Asia, the country's state oil producer Aramco said on Wednesday. 

Indian explorer ONGC issued its first tender this month to sell Russian Sokol crude for Oct. 3-9 loading. The tender will close on Aug. 10.

REFINERY

India state refiners are set to invest 2 trillion rupees ($26.96 billion) to boost oil refining capacity by 20% in Asia's third-largest economy by 2025, junior oil minister, Rameswar Teli, told lawmakers on Wednesday. 

Nigeria has given its state oil firm the green light to acquire a 20% stake in Dangote's oil refinery for $2.76 billion, junior oil minister Timipre Sylva said on Wednesday. 

 

NEWS

U.S. crude oil stockpiles rose, while gasoline inventories fell, in a signal of steady demand for fuel, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday. 

A slew of measures by Chinese authorities to tame soaring raw material costs has had only a fleeting effect, leaving the world's largest manufacturing base facing the harsh reality of substantially higher input costs for the foreseeable future. 

The United Arab Emirates on Wednesday extradited a former chief of Algeria's state oil and gas company Sonatrach to face trial over alleged involvement in corruption cases, Algerian state television reported. 

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