SINGAPORE, Sept 26 (Reuters) - The Asia Pacific crude oil market remained firm on Wednesday on still high profit margins for refining middle distillates and ahead of U.S. sanctions on Iranian crude, trade sources said.
VIETNAM
* Vietnam's PV Oil has offered 300,000 barrels of Ruby crude for loading in late November, trade sources said.
It last sold Ruby for October-loading at a premium of about $1 to $1.50 a barrel to dated Brent, traders have said.
MALAYSIA
* At least three Kimanis crude oil cargoes for loading in November have sold, with two of them likely selling at above $5 a barrel premium to dated Brent, traders said.
Firm middle distillates margins are boosting premiums for the sweet grade, they added.
AUSTRALIA
* Japan's Inpex may have sold 350,000 barrels of Van Gogh crude oil for loading over Nov. 18 to 22, traders said, though price details were not immediately clear.
BRENT-DUBAI EFS
* Brent's premium to Dubai swaps DUB-EFS-1M was at $3.66 per barrel for November, down 10 cents from the previous session.
NEWS
* Iranian oil exports are declining ahead of a second round of U.S. sanctions to be imposed on Nov. 4 and Iran's economy is likely to contract 3 percent this year and 4 percent in 2019, the Institute of International Finance said on Tuesday. Brent crude prices are likely to stabilize back in the $70 to $80 a barrel range into the year-end, with another supply catalyst beyond Iran needed for prices to meaningfully break to the upside, Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) said. India's government has not told the country's oil refiners to halt their imports of Iranian crude, a government source said on Wednesday, even as most Indian refiners have cut down their imports ahead of U.S. sanctions on Iran. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) will not delay implementing a reduction in the amount of sulphur in marine fuel in 2020, officials with the UN's shipping agency said on Tuesday. French oil and gas group Total on Tuesday reiterated its key production, savings and investments targets for the coming years, and accelerated its investor reward programmes in 2018 thanks to high oil prices. India's biggest state-owned refiner Indian Oil Corp Ltd said on Wednesday that a gradual rise in India's natural gas consumption could reduce local diesel demand. crude prices, oil product cracks and refining margins, please click on the RICs below.
Brent
BRENTSGMc1
Dubai
DUBSGSWMc2
Brent/Dubai EFS
DUB-EFS-1M
PRODUCT CRACKS
Fuel oil crack
FO180SGCKMc1
Gasoil crack
GOSGCKMc1
Naphtha crack
NAFOBSGCKMc1
Complex refining margins REF/MARGIN1