Middle East sour crudes surplus emerges in Asia

摘要

Singapore—An overhang of April-loading sour Middle East crude cargoes has emerged as upcoming refinery turnarounds in Asia dampen demand. The trading cycle for sour Middle East crudes is typically two months forward, but the start of March has seen some cargoes of Oman crude blend and some of Abu Dhabi crudes, including Umm Shaif and Murban, remaining unsold, trading sources said March 5. One trader said up to 2 million barrels of April-loading Oman crude remained unsold. “For April-loading Oman, maybe up to a VLCC [is unsold], but no one is offering really cheap,” the trader said.