Crude oil from the Middle East sold to Asia rose against benchmarks after Saudi Arabia lowered its official prices, raising expectations of improvements in processing profits.

Abu Dhabi’s Murban grade for loading in March increased 11 cents to a
discount of 5 cents a barrel to its official selling price, according
to data compiled by Bloomberg News. Qatar Marine climbed 12 cents to a
discount of 25 cents a barrel, Bloomberg data showed.

Saudi Aramco, the world’s biggest state-owned oil producer, reduced the
price of its Light crude oil grade, it’s largest export type, by 35
cents a barrel to a premium of 10 cents to the average of benchmarks
Oman and Dubai. The cut in prices may lift processing profits for
refiners and spur some demand for crude, said three traders who
participate in the market.

The profit margin from processing Dubai crude into a refinery in
Singapore that has the ability to upgrade fuel oil into diesel and
gasoline climbed to $1.57 a barrel yesterday, according to netback data
from Bloomberg and EnSys Energy. That’s up from minus $1.26 a barrel a
month ago.

Oman, a benchmark for Asian refiners, for immediate loading climbed 14
cents, or 0.2 per cent, to $80.53 a barrel. Dubai for loading in March
increased 97 cents, or 1.2 per cent, to $80 a barrel. Abu Dhabi’s
Murban rose 0.3 per cent to $80.63 a barrel.

Oman futures for March delivery dropped 10 cents to $80.17 a barrel on
the Dubai Mercantile Exchange at 5:36 p.m. Singapore time, with 1,048
contracts traded. The settlement price was set at $80.15 a barrel at
12:30 p.m. Dubai time.

The Brent-Dubai exchange for swaps for February narrowed 5 cents to 28
cents a barrel and the exchange for swaps for March narrowed 9 cents to
45 cents a barrel, according to data from brokers PVM Oil Associates.
The exchange for swaps is the price difference between Brent and Dubai
swaps contracts.

Source: Bloomberg

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