SINGAPORE, Sept 17 (Reuters) - The Middle East crude market strengthened on Monday as Qatari al-Shaheen crude changed hands at the highest premium in six months and traders said firm demand will keep prices of November loading cargoes high. Demand is expected to be supported by strong product cracks, resumption of operations at some refineries which had to undergo unplanned shutdowns, as well as seasonal winter buying. *TRADES: - Maersk sold at least one cargo of November loading al-Shaheen crude to Japanese buyers at a premium of $1.8-$1.9 per barrel above Dubai quotes, the highest since May. The crude last month traded at a premium of $1.2-$1.4. - Upper Zakum was likely traded at a premium of 35-40 cents a barrel above its official selling price (OSP), traders said. The identity of the buyer and seller were not immediately known. *MARKET NEWS: - Iran has signed agreements to sell four million barrels of oil through private companies, an official was quoted as saying on Saturday, in an attempt to avoid Western embargoes. - Iraq laid out more milestones on its path back to oil producing power, targeting 6 million barrels per day exports by 2017, and confirming it was currently pumping more than neighbour and fellow OPEC member Iran. - Angola is due to export around 1.67 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil in November, little changed from the initial loading schedule for October, a preliminary export programme showed on Monday. CRUDE Price Prev Change NOV DME Oman diff to Dubai swaps +0.96 +1.51 -0.55 NOV Brent 116.73 117.51 -0.78 NOV Dubai 113.80 113.85 -0.73 NOV DME Oman 114.76 115.36 -0.60 NOV Brent/Dubai EFS 3.60 3.66 -0.06 PRODUCT CRACKS OCT fuel oil crack -6.05 -5.97 -0.08 OCT gasoil crack +19.00 +18.72 +0.28 NOV naphtha crack -8.79 -8.57 -0.22 COMPLEX REFINERY MARGINS Today +8.38 Last 5 days +8.86 Last 365 days +7.36

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