RTRS:Asia-Pacific Crude-Tapis, Miri down on weak margins
SINGAPORE, March 20 (Reuters) - Asia-Pacific crude market
fell on Tuesday after Malaysian grades were sold at lower
premiums than the previous month as poor refining margins
dampened demand.
* TENDERS
- Malaysia's Petronas sold 300,000 barrels of Tapis for May
9-15 loading at about $7 a barrel above dated Brent to
ExxonMobil, down from a premium of $7.50 a barrel for April,
traders said.
Petronas also sold 300,000 barrels of Miri to be loaded on
May 20-30 to Chevron at a premium of about $8 a barrel.
- Indonesia's Petral sold 220,000 barrels of Geragai
condensate for April 11-15 loading to an unknown trader at a
premium to the grade's Indonesian Crude Price (ICP).
- Petronas offered 300,000 barrels of Muda condensate for
May 21-27 loading in a tender that will close on March 22 with
bids valid until a day later.
- PV Oil offered 400,000 barrels of Bunga Kekwa for May 5-11
loading and the same volume of Bunga Orkid for May 9-15 in a
tender that will close on March 22. Bids will stay valid until a
day later.
- Taiwanese refiner CPC Corp issued a tender seeking West
African sweet crude for May loading. The tender will close on
Tuesday with bids valid until Thursday.
CPC is also seeking condensate for May arrival in a tender
that will close on March 21 and stay valid until a day later.
- India's IOC issued a tender seeking sweet crude for May
loading. Grade and price offers should be submitted by Wednesday
and Thursday, respectively, and remain valid until Friday.
* MARKET NEWS
- Libya's oil exports are set to return to full pre-war
levels by April this year, beating even the most optimistic
estimates and potentially easing a global shortfall of oil
caused by outages and conflicts.
- Crude oil tanker earnings on the major Middle East route
lost steam on Monday, after hitting their highest in more than a
year last week, although there were expectations for rates to
stay positive due to tighter availability of vessels.
CRUDE Price Prev Change
MAY Oman diff to Dubai 2.59 2.96 -0.37
MAY Brent 124.49 125.19 -0.70
MAY Dubai 120.89 121.30 -0.41
MAY DME Oman 123.48 124.26 -0.78
MAY Brent/Dubai EFS 3.60 3.89 -0.29
DUB-EFS-1M
