SINGAPORE: Middle East crude benchmarks were mixed on Wednesday with DME Oman little changed while cash Dubai extended its decline for a third session.
Initial trades for February-loading cargoes showed that light sour grades remained at discounts against their respective OSPs.
MIDDLE EAST CRUDE: Unipec has sold a cargo of February-loading Qatar Land crude to an unknown buyer, likely at a discount of 35 cents a barrel to its OSP.
February-loading al-Shaheen crude has traded at a premium of about 30 cents a barrel to Dubai quotes, traders said. JX Nippon may have bought a cargo.
Iraq's SOMO will close on Thursday tenders to sell 2 million barrels of Basra Light crude for Dec. 24 loading and 1 million barrels of Basra Heavy crude for Dec. 20 loading. The cargoes are allowed to head to Asia or Europe.
ASIA-PACIFIC CRUDE: BHP has sold its North West Shelf (NWS) condensate cargo loading on Feb. 7-11 at $3-$3.25 a barrel below dated Brent, a much narrower discount than the previous month.
Traders attributed the improved price level for condensate to a recovery in naphtha margins and demand for the ultra-light oil from Indonesia and China.
A trader bought the cargo and may have offered it in Pertamina's buy tender, traders said. China's Fuhaichuang will close a tender on Thursday to buy up to 250,000 tonnes (1.8 million barrels) of condensate
Quadrant Energy offered a cargo of Van Gogh loading on Feb. 20-24 at a premium of more than $2 a barrel to dated Brent.
There are nine Kimanis cargoes to load in February, one less than the previous month, because there are less days in February.
WINDOW: Cash Dubai slipped further to 22 cents a barrel, 7 cents lower than the previous session. Unipec will deliver an Oman cargo to Total following Wednesday's deals.
Lukoil bid for a February-loading cargo of Das crude on window at 30 cents below its OSP and narrowed the discount to 25 cents at the end of the session.
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