Asia-Pacific Crude-Firmer; Exxon Ramping up Indonesian Output

The Asia-Pacific crude market firmed on Wednesday as trading for July-loading cargoes got underway with regional refiners gearing up purchases for peak summer demand, while trading of regional condensate cargoes for July-loading had yet to start, traders said on Wednesday.

Malaysia's Petronas may have sold a cargo of medium sweet Labuan crude for July-loading to Shell at around $6.50 per barrel above Dated Brent, traders said, although the details could not be verified.

Petronas last sold Labuan loading in June at a premium of $5.50-$6 per barrel, according to Reuters data.

Murphy Oil (MUR) may also have sold a July-loading cargo of Kikeh crude to Phillips66, traders said. The price was not known, and the deal could not be verified.

ExxonMobil's Cepu oil block in Indonesia is expected to triple production to 80,000 barrels per day (bpd) by the end of this year, the country's oil minister said on Wednesday.

The Cepu block, which currently produces 26,000-27,000 bpd, should hit peak production of around 165,000 bpd sometime next year, said Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Jero Wacik.

Brent-Dubai Exchange of Futures for Swaps (EFS) <DUB-EFS-1M>, or Brent's premium to Dubai swaps, widened 8 cents to $4.88 per barrel.

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Norwegian oil firm Statoil (STO) said it would keep production shut at its Snorre B platform in the North Sea until an investigation is conducted as to why the soil under a drilling template shifted.

The volume of Japan's customs-cleared crude oil imports fell 15.4 percent in April from the same month a year earlier, while LNG imports rose 2.3 percent as gas demand for power remained high with little prospect of a swift return of nuclear energy.

Russia's top oil producer Rosneft has reached an agreement to ship 180,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil to its jointly owned Chinese refinery project from 2020, the company's head Igor Sechin said.

Production at Kazakhstan's giant Kashagan oilfield, halted last October after gas leaks were detected in its pipelines, may resume in late 2015 or in early 2016, Kazakh Oil & Gas Minister Uzakbai Karabalin said.

Reporting by Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen and Florence Tan