SINGAPORE: The Middle East crude market held firm on Wednesday after February Banoco Arab Medium was traded at a premium, up from a discount in the previous month.
Petronas sold a cargo to Japanese refiner Fuji Oil at a premium of about 20 cents a barrel to its OSP, traders said. The grade was last traded at 10 cents below its OSP for January.
February differentials for Abu Dhabi flagship Murban may hold steady at small premiums, supported by a slight cut in its OSP, traders said.
Excess supply from the previous month is gradually clearing up. Shell recently sold 1 million barrels of Murban to Indian Oil Corp (IOC) via a February tender, they said.
Bids for Qatar Marine remained in discounts despite a reduction in its OSP, traders said.
TENDERS
Qatar's Tasweeq has sold deodorised field condensate (DFC) for loading in the first quarter next year at the widest discount in two years on weak oil products margins, traders said.
The Qatari oil marketer sold DFC at a discount of about 40 cents a barrel below its formula price, they said, down from a premium of more than $3 in the fourth quarter of 2014.
DME OMAN
DME Oman for February settled at $63.65 a barrel, up 1 cent, at 0830 GMT. This puts DME Oman at 66 cents a barrel below Dubai swaps, against a discount of 49 cents in the previous session.
MARKET NEWS
OPEC may still hold an emergency meeting before its June session to discuss how to tackle a surplus in global oil supplies and a drop in prices, Algeria's energy minister said.
Phibro, the storied energy trading firm run by famed oil investor Andrew Hall, is winding down in its current form, laying off some US employees and pursuing a sale of some overseas operations, sources said.
The US government on Tuesday cut its forecast for domestic oil production growth in 2015 by about 100,000 barrels per day and trimmed its forecast for global oil demand growth next year by 240,000 bpd.
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