Most of the January cargoes have been sold at better differentials than in the previous month as official selling prices for certain grades were lower, while refining margins have improved.
A widening of Brent's premium to Dubai also helped improved demand for grades priced on the Middle East quote. January Brent's premium to Dubai at $2.24 a barrel is the widest since July, according to Reuters data.
Premiums for Russian ESPO have gained to $2-$2.30 a barrel for four cargoes sold in a Surgutneftegas tender, traders said.
Iraq is gearing up to export more crude after Baghdad reached a deal with the Kurdistan Regional Government last week.
The country's state oil marketer SOMO will sell its first cargoes out of the Turkish port of Ceyhan since March at the end of November, market sources said.
Iraqi Oil Minister Adel Abdel Mehdi said on Thursday he expected the country's oil output to rise to 3.8 million barrels per day in 2015, including the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan. He said exports would average around 3.2 million bpd.
DME OMAN
DME Oman for January settled at $74.21, down $2.54, at 0830 GMT. This puts DME Oman at 43 cents a barrel above Dubai swaps against a premium of 86 cents in the previous session.
TENDER
Taiwanese refiner CPC Corp was still in talks with sellers to buy January-loading sour crude. It did not award a sweet crude tender.
REFINERY
JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corp, Japan's top oil refiner, said on Thursday it would process 11 percent less crude in December for domestic consumption, mainly due to lower capacity after the closure of its Muroran refinery.
MARKET NEWS
OPEC Gulf oil producers will not propose an output cut on Thursday, reducing the likelihood of joint action by OPEC to prop up prices that have sunk by a third since June.
The first Japanese purchase of US oil from shale fields was priced at a discount of around $4 a barrel to comparable grades from the Middle East, according to Reuters calculations based on customs data released on Thursday.
Indonesia's Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) is planning a sector-wide audit of the country's oil and gas industry, the latest step in a push to clean up the energy sector and restore investor confidence in Southeast Asia's biggest crude producer.