Abu Dhabi to continue crude supply to Japan

Abu Dhabi pledged continued crude oil supply to Japan after getting a $3 billion loan from a state-linked bank in the Asian country. Refineries in Libya and Iran are running below capacity as the Gulf country faces sanctions on its oil industry and the North African state's fuel-processing plants continue to have technical faults, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said. Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) agreed to take a $3 billion loan from Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), a government official said. JBIC, as the lender is known, is extending credit to Abu Dhabi's state-owned oil company, known as Adnoc, for a five-year period, Japanese trade minister Toshimitsu Motegi said at a press conference in the emirate on February 10. The loan is the third between Adnoc and JBIC, following similar agreements in 2007 and 2010. Qatar International Petroleum Marketing, or Tasweeq, sold seven cargoes of 600,000 barrels each of Al Shaheen crude, according to two traders who asked not to be identified because the information is confidential. The 4.2 million barrels for loading in April sold at premiums of $1.20 to $1.40 a barrel to Dubai oil, they said on February 15. In regional trading, the Oman and Dubai grades both rose for a fourth week, gaining 21 cents a barrel, or less than 1 per cent, through February 15. Oman crude futures rose to $112.70 a barrel in the week ended February. 15. Dubai crude climbed to $112.58 in the same period, data shows. From Times of Oman