Vitol bought two of the cargoes from PV Oil while Shell purchased one, they said. Premiums for the cargoes loading on Jan. 7-11,17-21 and 26-30 were between $2.50 and $2.90 a barrel to dated Brent, traders said.
Russian Sokol, on the other hand, weakened to a premium at just below $3 a barrel to Oman/Dubai quotes after ONGC sold a Jan. 13-16 cargo to Gunvor, traders said.
In ONGC's previous tender, a cargo of Sokol loading on Dec. 29-Jan. 1 fetched a premium of about $3.20 a barrel.
Separately, ONGC sold 600,000 barrels of Azeri Light to a trader at a premium of just under 70 cents a barrel to dated Brent.
Brent-Dubai Exchange of Futures for Swaps (EFS) <DUB-EFS-1M>, or Brent's premium to Dubai swaps, edged down 11 cents to $1.68 a barrel for January.
Libyan crude exports will remained curbed by a shutdown at the country's largest oilfield.
The El Sharara oilfield, which normally produces around 200,000 barrels per day, remains shut due to its main pipeline being closed, an official from the state-run National Oil Corporation said on Monday.
MARKET NEWS
Russian exports of ESPO crude oil blend via the Pacific port of Kozmino are expected to rise by some 20 percent next year to over 29 million tonnes as top Russian producer Rosneft increases supply to China, industry sources said.
Indonesia plans to review all permits, business processes and institutions connected to its oil and gas sector, the energy minister said on Sunday, an overhaul the former OPEC member hopes will avert a looming energy crisis.
Nigeria plans to lower its assumed benchmark oil price for next year's budget by $5 per barrel to $73 and use reserves to meet ongoing government spending, its finance minister said on Sunday.
Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) is in talks with commodities trader Trafigura and banks for a $700 million five-year loan at 4.43 percent to fund oil and gas projects, GNPC and a source close to the deal said.