Middle East Crude-Benchmarks ease despite Shell's purchases

SINGAPORE: The Middle East crude benchmarks eased on Monday despite robust demand from Shell on window.

Outside the window, spot trading levels have also weakened with medium-sour grades trading at Dubai-linked prices.

More details emerged for Qatar Marine trades. India's HMEL has bought at least one cargo at 50-55 cents a barrel above Dubai quotes, which puts the oil at discounts of 10-20 cents a barrel to its OSP, traders said. PTT has also bought two Qatar Marine cargoes at similar levels.

IRAQ: Iraq's state oil marketer SOMO resumed Basra crude oil sales via the Dubai Mercantile Exchange (DME) on Monday.

SOMO sold 2 million barrels Basra Light crude loading on Nov. 16-17 at 20 cents a barrel above the oil's official selling price, DME said.

Trade sources said Unipec won the auction.

The second and third highest bids from the 18 companies that participated were at premiums of 19 cents and 15 cents, respectively, DME said.

The buyer has the option of sending the cargo to Europe or Asia, it added.

SOMO last sold Basra Light through the DME in January, offering a cargo for March loading. However, the company halted the sales since it did not have excess oil to offer in the spot market.

RUSSIA: Gazpromneft has sold an ESPO cargo for Dec. 3-13 loading at about $5.40 a barrel above Dubai quotes to a Chinese buyer, traders said. Tenergy was also heard to be offering a cargo to load in mid-December at about the same level, they said.

ARBITRAGE: CPC Corp has signed its first long-term deal to buy US crude, a company official said on Monday, one of only a few such deals by Asian buyers who normally purchase US oil on the spot market.  CPC has awarded a tender to an unnamed US trading company and it will receive 2 million barrels of US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) Midland crude every month between February and June, the official said.

The cargoes will be priced at a differential to a formula comprising the Argus WTI Houston crude price assessment, Brent swaps and dated to front-line swaps (DFL), he said.

This allows CPC to convert WTI prices to dated Brent, which is one of two price markers used in Taiwan's domestic oil pricing, he added.

WINDOW: Cash Dubai's premium to swaps dropped 10 cents to $1.09 a barrel. Shell receives another two cargoes - al-Shaheen crude from Total and Upper Zakum oil from Unipec following the trades. This brings the total number of cargo deliveries to Shell this month to 10 cargoes comprising nine Upper Zakum cargoes and one al-Shaheen parcel.