Middle East Crude-Oman, Dubai fall below $1/bbl, near five-month lows

Middle-East crude benchmark spot premiums of Oman and Dubai fell sharply on Monday to below $1 per barrel, the lowest in near five months.

Two traders attributed the drop to a pause in buying activities after previous purchases. Meanwhile, market also eyed mounting supplies after news about OPEC+ planning another output hike in November.

OPEC+, a group comprising the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, will likely approve another oil production increase of at least 137,000 barrels per day at its meeting on Sunday, as rising oil prices encourage it to seek a higher market share.

SINGAPORE CASH DEALS

Cash Dubai's premium to swaps fell 86 cents to $0.88 a barrel.

Mercuria will deliver a November-loading Oman crude cargo to Vitol following the deals.

PRICES ($/BBL)

NEWS

Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter, is expected to lift November crude oil prices for Asian buyers to track gains in Middle-East benchmarks, although rising supplies would limit those increases, refining sources said on Monday.

The November official selling price for flagship Arab Light crude will likely rise 20-40 cents a barrel to between $2.40 and $2.60 a barrel after sharp price cuts for October, six refining sources said in a Reuters survey.

British oil major BP BP. said on Monday it will move ahead with a $5 billion offshore drilling project in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico called Tiber-Guadalupe, marking another step in the company's strategy shift to refocus on its core oil and gas business.

U.S. sanctions on Serbia's Russian-owned NIS (NIS.BEL) oil company that were supposed to take effect on October 1 will be postponed for eight days, Tanjug news agency reported, quoting President Aleksandar Vucic.

Ukrainian drones on Saturday struck an oil pumping station in the Russian Volga riverside region of Chuvashia, causing the station to halt work, regional governor Oleg Nikolaev said in a statement posted on Telegram.

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