SINGAPORE: Medium sour grades came under pressure in the Middle East crude market on Monday as discounts for Upper Zakum and Qatar Marine in November widened following low offers from Shell and Unipec.
Shell offered an Upper Zakum cargo at $0.80 a barrel below its OSP on the Platts window, down from a discount of 65 cents on Friday. This was followed by the first offer of a Qatar Marine cargo from Unipec this month at $1 a barrel below its OSP.
Sellers of Qatar Marine are experiencing difficulties in finding buyers in Asia as the grade has a limited pool of users while its latest OSP has not reflected spot discounts seen in the past month, traders said.
Separately, Qatar's Tasweeq sold November condensate at steady to lower premiums via a tender.
Condensate faced competition from light sour grades, which have seen a drop in prices, and abundant supply of arbitrage naphtha that can be used as a petrochemical feedstock.
But tighter spot supply of deodorised field condensate (DFC) supported premiums. Most of the grade's production has been sold to term buyers in the fourth quarter.
Tasweeq sold two deodorised field condensate (DFC) cargoes at about $3 a barrel above Dubai quotes to Glencore and an Indian buyer, traders said, steady from the previous month. The deals could not be independently verified.
Another Qatari grade, low-sulphur condensate, was awarded at premiums between $1.50 and $1.90 a barrel to Dubai quotes, although the buyers were not immediately known.
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