Crude MOC: Qatar Marine, Das Blend trade at deep discounts in Thursday's MOC

Singapore — March-loading cargoes of Qatar Marine and Das Blend crude traded in firm discounts in the Platts Market on Close assessment process on Thursday, demonstrating weaker buying sentiment led by seasonal maintenance in Asia over Q1 2020.

Thursday's MOC also saw several other grades offered sharply lower, ranging in quality from lighter Middle East sour crudes to heavier ones.

Total offered a 500,000 barrel clip of Abu Dhabi's light sour Das Blend crude in the MOC, initially at a discount of 30 cents/b to the grade's official selling price.

Total lowered the Das offer down to minus 60 cents/b, which was bought at that level by BP toward the end of the MOC at 4:30 pm in Singapore. Middle East cargoes typically trade on the spot market in clips of 500,000 barrels.

Earlier on Thursday, market talk indicated that light sour grades like Murban and Umm Lulu were trading in discounts ranging from 50 to 70 cents/b to their respective OSPs.

A cargo of Qatar Marine was also traded on the MOC on Thursday. Unipec initially offered the March 1-28 loading cargo at parity to its official selling price. Unipec lowered its offer down to a discount of 25 cents/b, at which point it was picked up by Shell. Qatar Marine is a medium-heavy crude produced from offshore fields.

These are the second and third full-sized cargoes that have traded on the MOC so far in January. Earlier this week, BP bought a 500,000 barrel clip of Murban crude offered by Total in the Platts MOC. The March-loading Murban cargo was traded at a discount of 50 cents/b to the Murban OSP.

Unipec also offered two other cargoes in Thursday's MOC, one for Qatar Land crude, and one for Banoco Arab Medium. Its Qatar Land offer for March 1-28 loading stood at a discount of 60 cents/b to the OSP at the close, while its Banoco cargo offer stood at a premium of 30 cents/b to the Arab Medium OSP as of 4:30 pm (0830 GMT) in Singapore.

A North Asian refinery-linked source told S&P Global Platts Thursday that availability of Banoco Arab Medium in the spot market was limited this month, with spot market value for the grade hovering in slight discounts to its OSP for March.

Meanwhile, the MOC continued to see Upper Zakum cargoes bid and offered in Thursday's process, as has been the case throughout the week. BP bid for a March cargo of the medium sour grade, with its bid standing at a discount of 40 cents/b to the Upper Zakum OSP at the close.

ExxonMobil stood with a similar offer for the grade, stipulating a March 1-28 loading window and B/L Month pricing terms, offering down to minus 30 cents/b to the OSP at the end of the MOC.

Additionally, eight partials of March Dubai changed hands on Thursday, bringing the total partials count for January to 42. Of these, 36 have been Dubai partials, and 6 have been Oman.