SINGAPORE: DME Oman flipped into a premium against Dubai swaps in the Middle East crude market on Monday, the strongest in nearly two months.
The grade was traded at a premium as high as $1.60 a barrel, a trader said, before settling at about 65 cents.
Robust demand from traders covering shorts before the contract's expiry likely gave it an extra push. Oman has become the most expensive medium-sour grade this month.
Separately, Yemen has set the official selling price of its Masila crude for loading in December at a premium of 74 cents a barrel to dated Brent, up 2 cents from the previous month, its government said.
Unipec UK bought the entire 1.6 million barrels of Masila crude offered by Yemen, the government said in a statement.
Asia could see more US oil as Pioneer Natural Resources plans to double its exports to 50,000 barrels per day (bpd) next year, its Chief Executive Scott Sheffield said.
The cargoes are currently sold on spot basis, but Pioneer and Enterprise are evaluating offers for one-year contracts for next year's supplies, he said.
"We want to get it on bigger ships that will lower our transportation costs," Sheffield said, adding he hoped that could happen by the end of this year.
The move will delight South Korean refiners which, faced with weak margins, are trying to cut costs by diversifying away from their traditional crude suppliers in the Middle East to US condensate.
DME OMAN
DME Oman for November settled at $95.97, up 69 cents, at 0830 GMT. This puts DME Oman at 65 cents a barrel above Dubai swaps against a discount of 20 cents in the previous session.
MARKET NEWS
Iran on Friday urged OPEC members to make joint efforts to keep oil prices from falling further, highlighting a split with other members such as Saudi Arabia who face lower budget pressures despite a slide in prices towards $95 a barrel.
Egypt plans to invest $14.5 billion in developing its refining and petrochemicals sectors over the next five years, its oil minister said, as part of efforts to overcome an energy crisis that has led to near-daily power cuts and hit company profits.
Russia moved to wrest control of an oil company from oligarch Vladimir Yevtushenkov on Friday, seizing his conglomerate Sistema's shares in the firm and deepening investors' fears the Kremlin wants to reclaim prized state assets.
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