RTRS:Middle East Crude-Murban steady; Banoco falls
SINGAPORE, July 17 (Reuters) - The Middle East crude market
was mixed on Tuesday as traders awaited the results of a big
tender for Qatari al-Shaheen crude due the following day.
Murban probably traded at 10-12 cents above its official
selling price (OSP), unchanged from last week, traders said.
Banoco Arab Medium traded at a premium of 10 to 20 cents to
the OSP, dealers said, down from a 40 cent premium last month.
Formosa also awarded a tender for 2 million barrels of Iraqi
Basra Light for September at 20 cents below its OSP, traders
said.
Qatari crude oil marketing agent Tasweeq has tendered to
sell six cargoes of 600,000 barrels each of al-Shaheen in Asia
for September looading.
*TRADES
- Trafigura is selling 10 Dubai partials for September to
Mercuria at $100.70 to $100.85 a barrel.
*MARKET NEWS
- Nippon Oil & Energy Corp said it started shutting down
secondary units at its 240,200 barrels per day (bpd) Mizushima-B
refinery in western Japan in a closure that could last several
months.
- Crude oil tanker earnings on the major Middle East route
slid to their lowest levels in nine months as a glut of vessels
and slowing demand battered rates.
- Yemen's Maarib oil pipeline resumed operations over the
weekend, the pipeline operator said on Tuesday, ending a
nine-month halt due to sabotage, which left the poorest Arab
country dependent on fuel donations.
