Middle East Crude-Benchmarks weaken; March Murban at discount

SINGAPORE: The Middle East crude benchmarks weakened on Monday, while March Murban was offered at a discount following the release of its official selling price (OSP).

Cash Dubai flipped into a discount of 1 cent a barrel against swaps, while DME Oman's premium to Dubai swaps was down 13 cents.

Total offered a March-loading cargo of Murban on Platts window at 10 cents a barrel below its OSP but there were no buyers.

Abu Dhabi light grades are expected to continue trading at discounts for a third straight month as their OSPs are still uncompetitive against Saudi's Arab Extra Light and arbitrage supplies, traders said.

ADNOC cut Murban's December OSP premium to Dubai quotes by 26 cents to $2.18 a barrel while those for Umm Lulu and Das were reduced by 21 cents.

The December OSP premium to Dubai quotes for Upper Zakum was down by 16 cents, narrowing its price gap with Qatar Marine's OSP. This has made Qatar Marine less competitive, traders said.

RUSSIA: ONGC issued its monthly tender to sell a cargo of Sokol crude loading in March. Twelve cargoes have been provisionally scheduled to load in March, an industry source said.

ASIA-PACIFIC CRUDE: Four North West Shelf (NWS) condensate cargoes are scheduled to be loaded in March, a steady volume compared with the previous month, trade sources said.