Adnoc cuts premium on Murban crude

Abu Dhabi National Oil Co Tuesday reduced the premium of its flagship Murban crude oil over Dubai crude for July, as easing regional fundamentals and weak spot premiums pressured producers to reduce their prices for Asian buyers. Adnoc has posted the official selling price of its flagship Murban crude oil at $113.95 a barrel retroactively for July term supply, a $1.80-a-barrel increase from the previous month, an official notice from the United Arab Emirates state-owned company said yesterday. This brings the closely watched premium to benchmark Dubai crude to $3.96 a barrel compared to $4.38 in June. Middle East producers will come under further pressure to reduce prices after the unexpected shutdown of the 540,000-barrel-a-day refining complex in Mailiao, Taiwan. The refinery is a major buyer of Middle Eastern crude oil in term contracts and its shutdown may lead to more excess sour crude overflowing into the regional market. The sweet-sour differentials, represented by the Brent/Dubai EFS have already widened to almost $6/bbl.