Russia's Rosneft sold two cargoes of ESPO loading on Jan. 10-15 and Jan. 21-26 to ChemChina in a tender at $2.80-$2.90 a barrel above Dubai quotes, traders said.
Spot differentials for the Russian grade were lower than last month when premiums reached a 16-month high, but higher than deals done earlier this month, Thomson Reuters data showed.
Abu Dhabi's Murban grade held steady at 40-50 cents per barrel above its official selling price (OSP) amid limited supply, although a few spot cargoes were still available for January loading, traders said.
Indian refiners were seen taking more West African crude for January lifting as an overhang of cargoes had build up.
The emergence of more fixtures of supertankers to take North Sea crude to Asia in December could also weigh on the Middle East market.
Shipping data suggested BP has fixed both the Front Page and the Voyager I to take Forties to South Korea in early December, while Trafigura has fixed another VLCC, Al Kout, for the same trip.
The fixtures come even as Brent's premium to Dubai swaps rose by more than $1 a barrel over the last one-and-a-half months, while Forties has traded at a discount to dated Brent since October.
DME OMAN
DME Oman for January settled at $41.04, up 19 cents, at 0830 GMT. This puts DME Oman at $1.89 a barrel below Dubai swaps, down from a discount of $1.61 in the previous session.
OSP
Dubai has set its official differential to Oman futures for February at a discount of $0.50 per barrel, the Dubai Department of Petroleum Affairs said on Wednesday.
MARKET NEWS
OPEC is determined to keep pumping oil vigorously despite the resulting financial strain even on the policy's chief architect, Saudi Arabia, alarming weaker members who fear prices may slump further towards $20.
China has given preliminary approval to independent refiner Shandong Haiyou Petrochemical Group Co Ltd for an annual quota of 3.2 million tonnes, or 64,000 barrels per day, of imported crude oil, the country's oil industry association said on Wednesday.
Chinese state-run oil and chemicals trader Sinochem has won approval to export refined fuel products, as Beijing moves to ease a domestic fuel glut and boost investment, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said on Wednesday.