Mideast crude down on Qatar, Murban supply

Singapore: The Middle East crude market remained under pressure Thursday after Qatar notified Asian buyers it would supply crude at full contracted volumes for January, steady from December.

Light grades continued to fall as Abu Dhabi flagship Murban crude for January loading were sold at weaker differentials than last week.

Qatar, one of Opec's smallest producers, has notified at least two Asian term buyers that it will supply crude oil at full contracted volumes for January, steady from December levels, trade sources said.

Qatar's allocations came after Abu Dhabi said it would raise supplies of light sour Murban and Umm Shaif crudes for January versus December, but would cut supplies of heavy sour Upper Zakum crude for January.

Two to three cargoes of Murban crude for January loading were sold to Thailand at a discount of between 10 and 15 cents a barrel to Adnoc, lower than a small premium fetched for a January Murban cargo sold last week, traders said.

Kenya has bought via tender two 600,000-barrel cargoes of Abu Dhabi's Murban crude for January arrival from Kenya Oil Co (Kenol), doubling the volumes it purchased last month, traders said. Oil major BP supplied the cargoes to Kenol.

January Oman traded on the Dubai Mercantile Exchange (DME) was assessed at a 20 cent discount to Dubai swap quotes at 0830 GMT, down from close to parity on Wednesday, according to Reuters calculations.

The Brent/Dubai Exchange of Futures for Swaps (EFS) for January held steady at minus five cents a barrel.

Signs of rising Chinese demand for oil may not be enough to offset weak demand in developed nations and trigger a price rally, the executive director of the International Energy Agency said Thursday.