SINGAPORE: The Middle East crude benchmarks kicked off trade this month on a strong note, with Dubai flipping back to a premium above swaps.
Both benchmarks traded at premiums above 70 cents a barrel to Dubai swaps at market close.
June-loading Dubai crude cargoes have also sold out with BP, Occidental and ENOC each selling one cargo about 40 cents a barrel above its OSP, two traders said. The deals could not be verified.
OSP PREVIEW: Saudi Arabia is expected to cut prices for all crude grades it sells to Asia in May to reflect weaker prices for its Middle East benchmark Dubai crude, trade sources said.
The official selling price (OSP) for flagship Arab Light crude could fall by 50-70 cents, to the lowest in six months, a Reuters survey of six refiners and traders showed.
"We expect cuts of 50-60 cents across all grades," one of the respondents said, in line with market changes last month.
Most of the respondents expect similar price cuts across all grades in May, although one person said he expects a smaller cut for Arab Extra Light's OSP on support from firm naphtha margins.
He also expects a bigger price cut for Arab Heavy because of widening losses in producing fuel oil.
For Abu Dhabi crude, traders expect ADNOC to maintain or trim Murban's OSP premium to Dubai quotes slightly. Qatar would have to cut its OSPs by a larger extent in order to become more competitive, traders said.
IRAQ: Spot premiums for Basra Light crude have risen in the latest tenders from Asian buyers as supply remained tight. India's HPCL may have awarded its tender at a premium of about $1 a barrel to its OSP, while the premium in Formosa's tender was 70-80 cents a barrel, traders said.
CONDENSATE: Hyundai Oilbank Corp has bought its first ever Norwegian condensate cargo as it sought supplies from outside Asia to replace Iranian barrels, two sources said.
Hyundai Oilbank bought 700,000 barrels of Ormen Lange condensate from Statoil for delivery in June, the sources said.
The National Iranian Oil Company has cut supplies of South Pars condensate to South Korea by 3 million barrels each month from the start of this year, three sources said, as production dropped and as the country started operations of a new splitter.
Still, the tight supply situation could improve for Hyundai Oilbank in the fourth quarter as the refiner will be able to process light crude in addition to condensate, the sources said.
The company plans to shut its 130,000 barrels-per-day splitter in Daesan in September for maintenance for nearly a month, they said.
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