Dubai, Oman, Murban discounts narrow; Saudi Arabia cuts OSPs

Discounts for the Middle East crude benchmarks of Oman, Dubai and Murban narrowed on Tuesday due to higher oil futures prices, although ample supplies capped gains.

Oil prices rose on Tuesday as reports of attacks on vessels near the Strait of Hormuz revived fears of disruptions to shipping through the critical energy transit route.

Saudi Arabia, the world's top exporter, slashed the August official selling price on Monday for its flagship Arab Light crude to $1.50 a barrel, below the average of Oman and Dubai quotes for Asia, and down $11 from the previous month. It also cut the OSPs for four other grades by $11 a barrel.

The sudden change reflects the U.S.-Iran interim deal signed in June that prompted more shipping to flow through the crucial Strait of Hormuz and a resumption of oil loadings, weighing on global oil prices.

However, oil traders said that not only have other Gulf suppliers also cut their prices to attract demand, but the sanctions waiver on Iranian crude sales has also added to competition. They added that lifting crude from within the Gulf still carried some risk given the shaky U.S.-Iran truce, tempering demand.

TENDER

India's HPCL was seeking 2 million barrels of crude for September delivery, trade sources said.

Separately, Vietnameness refiners BSR and NSRP were also seeking crude for August-September delivery.

The three tenders will close on Tuesday.

SINGAPORE CASH DEALS

Cash Dubai's premium to swaps rose $1.02 to $2.68 a barrel.

PRICES ($/BBL)

NEWS

Saudi Arabia is considering expanding the capacity of its crude oil pipeline to the western Red Sea coast, five sources close to the matter said, enabling the kingdom and possibly neighbours to transport more oil without crossing the Strait of Hormuz.

The United Arab Emirates raised its crude output to near record highs above 3.8 million barrels per day in June after it quit OPEC to escape production caps, two sources familiar with production data said on Monday.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards fired at least two missiles at commercial ships transiting through the Strait of Hormuz on Monday night, Axios reported, citing two U.S. officials.

Another two Japanese-owned supertankers carrying Saudi Arabian crude were heading to the Strait of Hormuz to exit the Gulf on Tuesday, shipping data from LSEG and Kpler showed, joining a fleet of previously stranded vessels that left a day earlier.

Kazakhstan will consider a request for fuel supplies from neighbouring Kyrgyzstan as it suffers from the knock-on effect of shortages in Russia, Kazakhstan's Deputy Energy Minister Kayirkhan Tutkyshbayev told reporters on Tuesday.

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