Middle East Crude Steady; June Cargoes Trading
SINGAPORE, April 21 (Reuters) - The Middle East crude market held steady on Monday after prices firmed last week on buoyant demand from Japan.
June differentials for most of the spot Middle East grades improved from May after producers Abu Dhabi and Qatar reduced
official selling prices. Demand is also recovering as North Asian refiners gradually ramp up output after seasonal maintenance to prepare for peak summer oil consumption.
More June-loading cargoes will trade this week although it remained to be seen if last week's buoyant sentiment could be extended.
Murban sellers were holding their offers at above 10 cents a barrel to OSP while buyers stayed on the sidelines, a buyer said.
"The second quarter is still the low season for oil," he said, as some refineries would still be closed for maintenance. He added that Oman's value may slip as there was ample supply of Upper Zakum at attractive prices.
TENDERS
Tasweeq has sold June deodorised field condensate at premiums between $1.50 and $2 a barrel to Dubai quotes, similar levels from the previous month on support from firm naphtha cracks. It was not immediately clear who the buyers were. Rosneft has sold two ESPO cargoes at steady premiums from last month. JX Nippon bought the May 31-June 5 cargo at a premium of $4.40 a barrel above Dubai quotes while Lukoil purchased the June 3-8 cargo at a premium of $4.50 a barrel.
DME OMAN
DME Oman for June settled at $106.03 a barrel, down $0.36, at 0830 GMT. This puts DME Oman at $1.00 a barrel above Dubai swaps, down from a premium of $1.17 in the previous session.
REFINERY
India's Reliance Industries, owner of the world's biggest refining complex, and HPCL-Mittal Energy Ltd (HMEL), part owned by steel tycoon L N Mittal, have sought environment ministry approval for raising capacity of their plants.
MARKET NEWS
Iran's crude oil exports fell for the first time in five months in March, and are slated to drop further in April, moving closer to the levels stipulated by November's temporary nuclear deal that eased some sanctions on Tehran.
The board of Russia's top oil producer, Rosneft, has approved deals to sell more than 2 million tonnes of crude oil, worth more than $1.5 billion, to BP, the Kremlin-controlled company said in a regulatory filing on Monday.
Technical problems have delayed the reopening of Libya's eastern Zueitina oil export terminal after the government reached a deal with rebels to end an eight-month blockade of the port, a minister said.
A fresh offensive by South Sudanese rebels this week aims to seize oil fields and towns with oil installations to starve the government of funds for its war chest, a rebel spokesman said on Saturday.
