Middle East Crude-Benchmarks edge lower on supply pressure

Middle East crude benchmarks Oman, Dubai and Murban discounts widened on Monday, as supply pressure continued to weigh on the market.

Gulf producers have ramped up supplies in recent weeks. Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has sold about 16 million barrels of Emirati crude at wider discounts in a fifth spot tender issued since June, trade sources said, underscoring a surge in spot supply.

The latest sale brings ADNOC's spot crude sales through the tenders to more than 70 million barrels, according to Reuters calculations.

OPEC+ agreed on Sunday to a further increase in output targets from August, adding to global supply at a time when oil prices are falling due to the gradual reopening of the Strait of Hormuz to oil exports.

TENDER

Indian state refiners Indian Oil Corp NSE:IOC and Hindustan Petroleum Corp NSE:HINDPETRO together purchased about 7 million barrels of crude oil through tenders last week, trade sources said on Monday.

Prices for the deals were not immediately available.

IOC bought about 1 million barrels of Angola's Kissanje crude from Cathay Petroleum, the sources said. It also purchased 2 million barrels of Nigeria's Agbami and Usan crude from Trafigura, and a further 2 million barrels of Angola's Nemba and Dalia crude from Chevron.

The cargoes are scheduled for delivery between late August and early September.

Separately, HPCL bought 2 million barrels of Brazil's Tupi crude, the sources said. The cargoes are scheduled for delivery in August and September.

SINGAPORE CASH DEALS

Cash Dubai's premium to swaps fell 19 cents to $3.70 a barrel.

Vitol will deliver a September-loading Oman crude cargo to Trafigura following the deals.

PRICES ($/BBL)

NEWS

Iran has begun talks with Japanese companies under a U.S. sanctions waiver allowing it to resume oil sales, though prospective buyers are seeking a longer waiver and reassurances about ship safety, three Iranian and Western sources said.

South Korean prosecutors said on Monday they have charged the country's four oil refiners and four employees at two of the refiners with colluding on fuel prices — anti-competitive actions that they said caused $17 billion in harm.

Japan's strategic crude oil stockpiles fell by the equivalent of four days of consumption in June, following drops of five days in May and 27 days in April, an official at the Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) said on Monday.

Brent crude for prompt delivery traded this week below contracts for delivery as far as six months into the future, the latest sign that increasing shipments through the Strait of Hormuz have caused a near-term glut.

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