SINGAPORE, Oct 5 (Reuters) - The Asia-Pacific crude oil market remained firm ahead of the restart of U.S. sanctions on Iran next month, which could increase the demand for alternative crude grades, trade sources said on Friday.
AUSTRALIA
* Japan's Inpex has offered a November-loading condensate in the spot market, its second such cargo from the new Ichthys project in Australia, an industry source said.
Inpex last sold 350,000 barrels of Ichthys condensate to load over Sept. 28 to Oct. 8 in a tender to Exxon Mobil Corp (NYSE:XOM) for possible delivery into Singapore, traders have said.
Exxon owns and operates Jurong Aromatics Corp's condensate splitter.
The quality of the condensate cargo is still not stable as is usual for new start-ups, the source added, though this could not be confirmed.
INDONESIA
* Oil major BP (LON:BP) offered 100,000 barrels of Attaka crude for loading in November at a discount of $4.20 to ICE Brent futures on RIM's trading platform, trade sources said.
VIETNAM
* Vietnam's PV Oil may have sold a November-loading Ruby crude oil cargo at $2.40 to $2.60 a barrel to dated Brent, trade sources said, though this could not immediately be confirmed.
PV Oil last sold an October loading cargo at above $1 a barrel premium, traders have said.
BRENT-DUBAI EFS
* Brent's premium to Dubai swaps DUB-EFS-1M was at $2.88 per barrel for December.
NEWS
* Indian buyers reduced U.S. crude purchases and loaded up on Iranian oil ahead of the restart of U.S. sanctions next month and as the WTI-Brent differential narrowed, according to traders and shipping intelligence firm Kpler. Plastics and other petrochemical products will drive global oil demand to 2050, offsetting slower consumption of motor fuel, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Friday. government efforts to cut pollution and carbon emissions from oil and gas, the Vienna-based agency said it expected the rapid growth in emerging economies, such as India and China, to propel demand for petrochemical products.
* Global oil markets could witness a modest surplus into early 2019 as new spare capacity comes online, despite strong demand and uncertainty on the size of supply losses from Iran due to U.S. sanctions set to start next month, Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) said. Mexican state-run oil company Pemex said on Thursday it had received no qualifying bids for an international tender to import 350,000 barrels of light crude. said in a statement that participants in the auction by its oil trading arm P.M.I. could not meet delivery conditions between Oct. 20 to Oct. 22 to its terminal in Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz port and that it would seek better offers.
* Saudi Arabia will invest $20 billion in the next few years to maintain and possibly expand its spare oil production capacity, Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said on Thursday. Venezuela's September crude sales to the United States rose to their highest in over a year, boosted by purchases by Citgo Petroleum, the U.S. refining arm of Venezuela's state-run PDVSA, and Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO), according to Refinitiv Eikon trade flows data. 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