Murban, the Middle Eastern benchmark light sour crude from the UAE, reached a six-month low on Monday, with its spot premium dropping to $1.34 a barrel over Dubai quotes. This decline is attributed to expectations of increased Murban supplies in the first two months of 2024. UAE's ADNOC announced that Murban export availability will rise to 1.527 million barrels per day (bpd) in January and 1.513 million bpd in February, compared to 1.352 million bpd in December. The boost in availability is primarily due to a planned turnaround at ADNOC's Ruwais refinery. Additionally, the Asian light crude market is influenced by a narrower spread between Brent and Dubai, making the transportation of crude from the Atlantic Basin to Asia more economical. In related news, OPEC+ is nearing a compromise with African oil producers on 2024 output levels after disagreements led to a postponement of a key meeting. Meanwhile, challenges persist in one of Russia's lucrative oil trade routes due to the drawbacks of non-dollar payments. China has issued an additional 3 million metric tons in fuel oil import quotas for non-state firms in 2023. Kazakhstan's daily oil output fell by 15% on November 26 due to Russia halting Black Sea oil exports amid violent storms.

SOURCE: GOOGLE