SINGAPORE, Feb 27 (Reuters) - The Asia-Pacific crude
market held firm on Monday as robust naphtha demand supported
condensate while tighter supply still underpinned most grades
produced in the region.
* TENDERS
- Malaysian Petronas has sold 300,000 barrels of Muda
condensate for April loading at a higher premium than the
previous month on strong naphtha demand, traders said.
The cargo to load on April 10-16 was sold to Thai refiner
PTT at a premium of $3.50 a barrel to dated Brent, a trader
said.
- More details emerged for Taiwan CPC's condensate
purchases. It bought a March-loading North West Shelf (NWS)
condensate from Strong Petroleum at $3.30 a barrel below dated
Brent on a free-on-board basis (FOB) and an April-loading Bayu
Undan condensate from ConocoPhillips at an unknown discount to
dated Brent.
- PV Oil may have sold Te Giac Trang crude to Shell at a
premium of about $8 a barrel, higher than the previous month,
although this could not be confirmed.
- PV Oil has awarded April Bach Ho to Idemitsu Kosan. Price
details were not immediately available, but the spot
differential could hold steady or lower than the $8.50-$9.50 a
barrel premium for March as the price marker Minas formula has
strengthened.
- Petral, the trading arm of Indonesian national refiner
Pertamina, bought its first Qatari condensate cargo in a tender
for May delivery as it seeks to widen its crude selection, trade
sources said.
In the latest tender, Petral bought 500,000-600,000 barrels
of deodorised field condensate (DFC) and 730,000 barrels of
Russian ESPO Blend crude in the tender, the sources said.
Both cargoes were sold by traders and prices were linked to
dated Brent on a cost-and-freight (C&F) basis although the
premiums were not immediately known.
Petral did not buy any crude in a tender closing Feb. 22
seeking Nigerian grades for May-July delivery due to high
offers, sources said.
It has re-issued the second tender, which will close on
March 1 with bids valid until a day later.
* TRADES
- ExxonMobil may have sold one of two Kutubu cargoes for
April loading at a premium of about $4 a barrel to dated Brent.
* MARKET NEWS
- Nigerian oil exports will jump to their highest level in
four months in April as output from a new crude stream starts to
flow, traders and shipping sources said.
The new Usan offshore oilfield will contribute most of the
extra oil in April, pumping almost 100,000 bpd, the programmes
show.
- Saudi Arabia has raised oil exports and the United States
is considering releasing crude from its strategic reserves as
oil prices hit nine-month highs on Friday and concerns deepened
over Iran's nuclear program.
* REFINERY MARGINS
- Complex processing margins for Dubai in Singapore were
around $6.66 per barrel, down from an average of the last five
days of $6.75, Reuters data show. Over the last year, the
average margin has been around $7.86 per barrel.
CRUDE Price Prev Change
APRIL Brent 124.30 123.9 0.35
5
APRIL Brent/Dubai EFS 3.67 3.95 -0.28
