SINGAPORE- Middle East crude benchmarks Oman and Dubai rose on Tuesday, supported by an uptick in Asian refinery demand.

ADNOC's Murban crude strengthened to near parity to official selling price (OSP), up from a spot discount of around 25 cents to OSP seen last week, after Japanese buyers snapped up light sour crude, mainly Murban, in spot trades, traders said.

Taiwan's CPC on Tuesday issued a spot tender to seek March-loading sour crude, which will be closed on Wednesday.

Iraq's SOMO, via a spot tender, sold Basra Medium crude at a spot premium of above 50 cents to OSP, traders said. China's Unipec was heard to be the buyer, one trader said.

Results for SOMO's Basra Light crude tender were not yet clear, though traders said it was possibly not awarded as the grade was traded at discounts of 5-10 cents to OSP in the spot market.

 

ASIA-PACIFIC CRUDE:

Petronas sold a March-loading cargo of Malaysia's Labuan crude at around $2.5 above dated Brent, traders said.

An Australian North West Shelf condensate cargo, loading Mar. 15-19 and marketed by Chevron, was traded at a premium of $2 to dated Brent, traders said, supported by Asia's strong naphtha margins.

Chevron and Woodside each sold a Wheatstone condensate cargo at spot premiums of roughly around $2 to dated Brent, traders said.

 

RUSSIAN CRUDE:

Surgut and Trafigura sold five March-loading cargoes of Russian ESPO Blend crude at spot premiums of around $1 a barrel to Dubai quotes, the lowest since last September, traders said. 

Surgut offered four more ESPO crude cargoes, loading on March 17–24, March 20–27, March 24–29 and March 28–31, via its third spot tender to be closed later on Tuesday.

 

NEWS

Oil demand recovery will take a hit from a spike in new coronavirus cases before vaccine rollouts and stimulus measures help in the second half of the year, International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Tuesday. 

Kazakh CPC Blend oil supply to Asia has rebounded amid improved naphtha margins and competitive pricing after drying up in the second half of 2020, four traders said on Monday. 

China's gasoline exports fell for the first time last year since 2012, as fuel demand shrank globally after governments imposed travel restrictions to contain the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. 

(Reporting By Shu Zhang; Editing by Shailesh Kuber) ((shu.zhang@thomsonreuters.com; +65-6870-3549; Reuters Messaging: Twitter @shuzhang4))