SINGAPORE: March premiums for condensate in the Middle East crude market are expected to rise from the previous month on the back of a rebound in naphtha cracks, traders said on Wednesday.
Qatar's Tasweeq is expected to award its monthly tender later in the day to sell deodorised field condensate (DFC) and low-sulphur condensate (LSC).
Spot premiums may jump to as high as $1, up from an average premium of about 15 cents a barrel to Dubai quotes in the previous month, a trader said.
Trade in other Middle East crude grades slowed as traders await CPC's tender result for price direction. The Taiwanese refiner closed its tender on Wednesday morning.
Spot differentials for most grades improved this week on firm demand in Asia, but it remained to be seen if the upbeat momentum could be sustained given ample supply.
The deep Dubai contango allows sellers to store unsold cargoes, a trade strategy that could support spot values, but Asia's demand is expected to fall from April onwards as refiners head for seasonal maintenance.
DME OMAN
DME Oman for March settled at $45.36 a barrel at 0830 GMT, up 14 cents. This puts DME Oman at $1.65 a barrel below Dubai swaps against a discount of $1.61 in the previous session.
MARKET NEWS
Oman oil minister Mohammad bin Hamad al-Rumhy sharply criticised OPEC's production policy on Wednesday, saying it was creating volatility in the market without benefiting oil producers and that his country was suffering.
Russia may see a natural decline in oil output by around 1 million barrels per day (bpd) at most but has no plans to cut production in coordination with OPEC, Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich said.
Indian refiners processed 6.1 percent more oil in December than a year earlier at about 19.73 million tonnes, or 4.66 million barrels per day (bpd), preliminary government data showed.
Oil drilling in the United States will continue to fall in the first half of this year, and could even halve, according to major oil service companies looking to past slowdowns as a guide.
Two US senators on Tuesday called on Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker to reconsider recent moves by the Department of Commerce to loosen the government's existing ban on crude oil exports, arguing the move will erode the benefits of low oil prices for consumers.
Indonesia's state-owned Pertamina is targeting a 38 percent jump in crude output to 329,000 barrels per day (bpd) this year, by more than quadrupling output from overseas asset purchases, despite a sharp drop in profits due to declining oil prices.
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.