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Asia crude: Gulf thin, IOC tender results out

TOKYO: Middle East crude grades traded thinly on Monday, yet traders said spot premiums remained under pressure.

State-owned Indian Oil Corp (IOC) has awarded one cargo a month of Dubai, and one very large crude carrier (VLCC) cargo of Nigerian Forcados a month, in its tender to buy April-June crudes, traders said.

Details could not be confirmed but traders said Dubai was likely awarded to Caltex around front-month quotes plus 60 cents per barrel. Traders said Forcados was probably awarded to Vitol, but the prices were unclear.

In spot trades for March lifting, a Japanese refiner was rumoured to have bought a Qatar Marine cargo at a discount of 40 cents below QGPC from a western major.

In a previous trade on February 4, March Qatar Marine was done at a discount of 39 cents below QGPC.

Another Japanese refiner has bought 70,000 barrels of March Qatar Marine at a discount of 15 cent below QGPC. The price does not reflect the market rate as the volume was too small, a buyer source said.

Traders said several cargoes of Abu Dhabi crude grades for March were still uncommitted.

Elsewhere, IOC has issued a mini-term tender to buy Egyptian and West African crudes for either a six-month or nine-month period starting from April, traders said on Monday.

They said the crudes specified in the tender were Gulf of Suez or Zeit Bay grades, both Egyptian crudes, and either Bonny Light, Escravos, or Forcados, all Nigerian grades.

IOC has also issued a spot tender to buy sweet crude for April lifting.

In other crude-related news, Saudi Arabia has told its term customers in Asia that it will cut March-loading crude supplies by an average of 15 percent from standard contract volumes, traders said on Monday.

The cut is larger than 9-11 percent in February and cuts in previous months, and is on the upper end of expectations. But it is unlikely to lift crude premiums of other Gulf crude grades, traders said.-Reuters