SINGAPORE: The Asia-Pacific crude market found some support from improving refining margins, but could be weighed down by new supply from Malaysia when trading for November cargoes kicks off later this month, traders said.
Petronas plans to ramp up production at the offshore Gumusut-Kakap field this month, with first exports of the new Kimanis crude grade planned for November, two sources with knowledge of the matter said on Wednesday.
Production of the new Kimanis crude grade may reach 80,000-90,000 barrels per day (bpd) next year, with potential to raise production further in the future, said one of the sources.
Supply of the new grade, which will be similar in quality to Malaysia's medium sweet Labuan, will add to a glut of crude that has built up in Asia in recent months, amid weak demand in the region.
Supply of Australia's Northwest Shelf (NWS) condensate will remain steady from last month at four cargoes, including one cross-month cargo.
BP will market a cargo loading Nov. 3-7, while BHP Billiton and CNOOC will jointly market a Nov. 13-17 cargo. A cargo loading Nov. 20-24 will be sold by Mitsui, and Woodside will sell a cargo loading Nov. 28 to Dec. 2.
Brent-Dubai Exchange of Futures for Swaps (EFS), or Brent's premium to Dubai swaps, narrowed 5 cents to $1.20 a barrel.
* TENDERS
Petral, the trading arm of Indonesia's Pertamina, bought a cargo of Nigerian Qua Iboe crude in a tender from Vitol at around $4.50 a barrel above dated Brent on a cost and freight basis, traders said.
Russia's Rosneft offered 730,000 barrels of Sokol crude for loading Nov. 13-22 in a tender that closes Sept. 11, with bids valid until Sept. 15.
REFINERY
Kuwait has shut a 120,000 bpd crude unit at the Mina al-Ahmadi refinery for planned maintenance, the head of state-run oil refiner Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC) said.
Kuwait's plans to boost refining capacity by over 50 percent are still on track, a senior oil official said, despite having to extend tenders to build a 615,000 bpd refinery that has faced delays and political opposition in the past.
MARKET NEWS
South Africa wants to resume oil imports from Iran, once its biggest supplier, and hopes to resolve "sanction issues" that have blocked purchases within the next three months, its deputy foreign minister said.
Royal Dutch Shell is betting on chemicals, lubricants and retail fuel sales to help it boost the performance of its downstream division, where oil refining will remain a drag on earnings in many regions for years to come.
European Union countries will discuss on Wednesday whether to implement new sanctions against Russia over its involvement in the Ukraine war, the European Commission said on Tuesday, as Kiev urged the 28-nation bloc to move without delay.
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.