SINGAPORE- Middle East crude benchmarks weakened for a fifth straight session with Oman and Dubai's premiums at their lowest in three weeks.
Most of the refiners in Asia have completed their purchases, except for Taiwan's CPC which is due to award its tenders by the end of this week.
ASIA-PACIFIC CRUDE: Exxon Mobil has sold 650,000 barrels of Banyu Urip to load on April 9-13 at a premium of more than $5 a barrel to an end-user, traders said. The premium was more than $1 higher than a deal for a March-loading cargo last month, one of the traders said.
PV Oil has sold its Chim Sao crude cargoes loading in April to domestic refiner Binh Son, traders said.
Dubai has set its official differential to Oman futures 1OQc1 for May at a discount of $0.05 per barrel, the Dubai Department of Petroleum Affairs said on Thursday.
REFINERY
Exxon Mobil Corp said on Thursday it has shut some units at one of its two refineries in Singapore for maintenance. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N20G1FK
Saudi Aramco plans to shut the Yanbu oil refinery in Saudi Arabia for planned maintenance for one month from early March, several trading sources said.
CNOOC has shut its 240,000-bpd refinery in Huizhou, Guangdong province, for a turnaround while it continued to operate its second 200,000-bpd refinery following an incident on Monday.
NEWS
Saudi Aramco is in talks on possible investments in Indian projects involving companies including Reliance Industries, operator of the world's biggest refining complex, its chief executive said.
Saudi Aramco plans to sign preliminary deals to invest in two oil refining and petrochemical complexes in China during the Saudi Arabian crown prince's visit this week, sources familiar with the plans said, as Beijing seeks expanded ties with Riyadh.
Saudi Aramco's trading arm plans to open an office in London soon as it expands its international business, sources familiar with the move said.
Abu Dhabi's ADNOC said ADNOC L&S plans to acquire its first crude oil tankers and expand its gas and dry bulk fleet.
Nigeria is willing to reduce oil output to help secure higher prices, the spokesman for President Muhammadu Buhari said in a statement on Wednesday, after an envoy from Saudi Arabia called on the African nation to adhere to a deal on production cuts.
Brazil's state-run oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA said on Wednesday it had started oil and gas production at the P-76 platform, located in the Buzios field within the pre-salt region of Bacia de Santos.
(Reporting by Florence Tan; Editing by Shreejay Sinha) ((Florence.Tan@thomsonreuters.com; +65 6870 3497; Reuters Messaging: florence.tan.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
