SINGAPORE, May 29 (Reuters) - Middle East crude benchmarks
eased on Tuesday versus week-ago levels as a supply glut and
poor distillate refining margins started to weigh on prices.
Abu Dhabi's July-loading Murban barrels was valued at a
discount of 30 to 35 cents to its official selling price (OSP)
according to traders, down around 10-15 cents from levels seen
in the previous session.
At least one deal was heard transacted at a discount of
around 35 cents to the OSP.
Murban has been weighed down by poor naphtha and gas oil
crack spreads.
Asia's June gas oil crack settled down 43 cents at $14.61
versus the previous session, while naphtha settled $63.10 down
$3.20 from the previous session.
Poor demand forced Chinaoil, to offer two million barrels of
second-half June loading Basrah Light.
Traders said Chinaoil was seeking a strike price of minus 30
cents to the OSP, but buyers were unlikely to start talking
until the discount was lowered under a discount of 50
cents.
* MARKET NEWS
- Russia's No.2 oil producer Lukoil plans a
secondary listing in Hong Kong within a year, a company
executive said on Tuesday, as it seeks to attract Asian
investors.
- South Korea imported almost 60 percent more crude from
Iran in April than in March, pushing purchases to their highest
level this year and reversing a decline that began in January
after the United States announced sanctions against
Tehran.
- Royal Dutch Shell Plc has put an Alberta oil
sands project on the block, six years after acquiring it as part
of a C$2.4 billion ($2.3 billion) acquisition near the height of
the last Canadian energy boom.
CRUDE Price Prev Change % change
JULY Oman diff to Dubai 0.35 0.17 0.18
JULY Brent 107.71 107.56 0.15 0.14%
JULY Dubai 104.89 104.51 0.38 0.36%
JULY DME Oman 105.24 104.68 0.56 0.53%
JUNE Brent/Dubai EFS 3.42 3.60 -0.18
DUB-EFS-1M
