Middle East crude benchmark Dubai slipped for a second straight session on Friday with PetroChina keeping up its selling momentum and delivering another two cargoes on the Platts window.
DME Oman, on the other hand, climbed to its highest premium of $2.80 a barrel this month while IFAD Murban’s premium edged up to $2.27.
SINGAPORE CASH DEALS
Cash Dubai’s premium to swaps fell 15 cents to $2.09 a barrel.
PetroChina will deliver two June-loading al-Shaheen crude to Equinor and Vitol following the trades, switching from Murban which is the most delivered grade this month.
REFINERY
South Korea’s S-Oil 010950.KS forecast on Friday that second-quarter refining margins will be steady, supported by regular maintenance in the region, then trend upward in tandem with higher demand as the summer season gets underway.
NEWS
Chinese state energy major PetroChina has been waiting to unload a cargo of U.S. crude at Nigeria’s giant new refinery for nearly a month due to payment issues, according to four trading sources and shipping data.
Several propane-based petrochemical plants starting up in China this year will push LPG imports to another annual record, while also exacerbating plastic materials overcapacity in a sector experiencing sluggish demand, analysts and traders said.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Florence Tan; Editing by Vijay Kishore)
