SINGAPORE: The Asia-Pacific crude market was supported by refiners ramping up runs to benefit from strong margins, although Brent's widening premium to Dubai swaps could weigh on sentiment.
Complex refining margins in the Singapore hub have averaged close to $9 a barrel over the past week, up around $2 a barrel from last month's average, as benchmark Brent prices hover near their lowest since August.
A strong market for naphtha in Asia amid limited supply could buoy demand for condensates, with sellers of Australia's Northwest Shelf (NWS) targeting premiums of more than $1 a barrel against dated Brent, according to traders.
Last month, the condensate was sold at between flat to a discount of 80 cents per barrel, according to Reuters data.
Russia's Sakhalin Energy offered 730,000 barrels of Sakhalin Blend loading on Jan. 15-22 in a tender that closes on Thursday. The company would aim to sell another four cargoes loading on Jan. 21-28, Jan. 26-Feb. 2, Jan. 31-Feb. 7 and Feb. 6-13 via private negotiations.
The result of a tender by ONGC to sell a cargo of Russian Sokol crude loading on Jan. 17-23 was expected on Thursday. The Indian company last sold a December cargo at around $5.50 a barrel above the Oman/Dubai average.
A January cargo was recently sold by ExxonMobil at around $4 a barrel above Dubai quotes.
Traders also eyed the result of a tender by PV Oil to sell three 300,000-barrel cargoes of Chim Sao loading on Jan. 3-7, Jan. 15-19 and Jan. 27-31.
Brent's premium to Dubai swaps, or Brent-Dubai Exchange of Futures for Swaps (EFS), held near its widest since July last year at $2.62 a barrel, with the February spread roughly at the same level.
REFINERY
India's Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd expects to operate its 100,000 barrel per day (bpd) crude unit, representing about a third of the plant's overall capacity, at a full rate from Saturday.
MARKET NEWS
Oil pricing agency Platts said on Wednesday it will add Qatar's al-Shaheen and Abu Dhabi's Murban crude to its Dubai and Oman benchmarks from January 2016 to boost the liquidity of its price assessment process.
Russian oil production may fall by up to 10 million tonnes in 2017 from projected levels for 2015 and 2016, affected by western sanctions that reduce companies' ability to raise funds, First Deputy Energy Minister Alexei Texler said.
The China National Aviation Fuel Group, the parent of Asia's biggest jet fuel buyer China Aviation Oil, said its chairman and general manager has been removed from his post.
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