SINGAPORE: Russian ESPO crude held steady on Tuesday as traders eyed more tender awards to gauge the price outlook for the grade.
Last week, producers sold several July-loading cargoes at a wide range of premiums from $2 to $3.30 a barrel to Dubai quotes. Cargoes loading earlier in the month fetched lower premiums than those due to be lifted in the last week of July.
Still, a jump in July supplies from June may cap premiums for the rest of the cargoes, especially as demand from Chinese independent refiners remained lacklustre, traders said.
Gazprom and Tenergy have closed tenders to sell cargoes loading on July 16-19 and July 28-Aug. 1, respectively. Surgutneftegaz will close this evening a tender to sell four cargoes.
More details have emerged about Surgut's previous tender. It sold a cargo loading on July 8-12 at a premium of about $2, lower than the $2.30-$2.40 a barrel talked earlier.
More regional crude cargoes have moved, although details remained sketchy.
Inpex has sold the sole Pyrenees cargo loading in July, likely at about parity to dated Brent, a trader said. Petronas has also sold a July Labuan at an unknown price.
Brent's premium to Dubai swaps, or Brent-Dubai Exchange of Futures for Swaps (EFS) edged down 4 cents to $3.48 a barrel for July.
REFINERY
Japan's Cosmo Oil Co 5021.T said it would restart the 100,000 barrels-per-day (bpd) No.1 crude distillation unit (CDU) at its Chiba refinery on Wednesday, after an unplanned shutdown due to a boiler fire earlier this month.
Japanese refiner Idemitsu Kosan Co said it restarted a 42,000-barrel-per-day (bpd) resid hydro desulphurisation (RH) unit at its Hokkaido refinery in northern Japan on Saturday following an unplanned shutdown earlier this month due to a fire.
MARKET NEWS
China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) may consider increasing its stake in Russian state oil firm Rosneft during a planned privatisation programme, its chairman said on Monday.
Air France pilots voted on Monday to go on strike and oil storage workers extended a job walkout, compounding the French government's woes as it scrambled to calm rolling protests against labour reforms ahead of the Euro soccer tournament.
Indonesia's state oil and gas company PT Pertamina has signed a deal with National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) to buy 600,000 tonnes of refrigerated liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), Pertamina said in a statement on Monday.
French oil firm Total Outre Mer has struck a deal to buy Kenya's largest petroleum importer, Gulf Africa Corporation, Business Daily reported on Tuesday. Gulf Africa Petroleum Corp is 76 percent owned by Indian tycoon Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries.
Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC) said on Monday it had signed an agreement with Shenhua Ningxia Coal Industry Group SHGRPB.UL to build a petrochemical complex in China.
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