Middle East Crude-Benchmarks rebound on lower fuel stocks; Saudi Arabia may hike Sept OSPs to record highs

SINGAPORE, July 28 (Reuters) - Middle East crude benchmarks Oman, Dubai and Murban rebounded on Thursday after a steep drop in the previous session, as hopes over fuel demand improved after an uptick refining margins and lower middle distillates inventories in Singapore.

But prices are typically volatile toward the end of the month amid subdued trade.

SAUDI OSP PREVIEW

Top oil exporter Saudi Arabia could raise September crude prices for customers in Asia for a third month, even though refining margins have declined as high fuel prices and persistent COVID-19 restrictions in China hit demand.

State oil giant Saudi Aramco could hike the official selling price (OSP) for its flagship Arab Light crude by between 70 cents and $1 a barrel from the previous month, according to six refining sources surveyed by Reuters.

The increase would shoot the September price to a record level, surpassing the previous record of $9.35 a barrel above the Oman/Dubai average set for May.

ASIAN REFINERY

South Korea's S-Oil Corp SOOCY said on Thursday profits in the second quarter rose more than 200%, while expecting regional refining margins to correct downward in the third quarter.

Regional refining margins are expected to correct downward in the third quarter but stay elevated more than in previous cycles supported by the tight supply situation in the global refining system, the company said in its earnings statement.

WINDOW

Cash Dubai's premium to swaps rose 54 cents to $7.22 a barrel.

PRICES ($/BBL)

NEWS

The Group of Seven richest economies aim to have a price-capping mechanism on Russian oil exports in place by Dec. 5, when European Union sanctions banning seaborne imports of Russian crude come into force, a senior G7 official said on Wednesday.

Kazakhstan plans to stop oil and gas condensate production at Karachaganak oilfield for maintenance from Sept. 12 to Oct. 6, the energy ministry said this week.

China's CNOOC Ltd CEO has tapped commercial flows of oil and gas from a shale exploration well in the South China Sea, marking the first successfully drilled shale oil well offshore China, state media reported on Thursday.

Russian oil and gas condensate production rose to 43.8 million tonnes or 10.7 million barrels per day (bpd) in June from 10.21 million bpd in May, according to data published on Wednesday by the Rosstat statistics office.

Russia is likely to remain the dominant supplier of oil through the Kazakhstan-China pipeline even as Kazakhstan looks to diversify export routes, industry players say.

PetroChina 0857.HK has launched a 30.5 billion yuan ($4.52 billion) programme to expand a subsidiary refinery in southern China into an integrated petrochemicals complex, Chinese state media reported on Thursday.

U.S. crude oil exports surged to an all-time high last week, contributing to another fall in stockpiles, driven by overseas demand due to the big discount for U.S. crude when compared with international benchmark Brent.

For crude prices, oil product cracks and refining margins, please click on the RICs below.

(Reporting by Muyu Xu; Editing by Aditya Soni)

((muyu.xu@thomsonreuters.com; +65 9829 1075;))

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