Middle East Crude-Benchmarks drop; Kurdish oil export restart deal to be announced

SINGAPORE, April 4 (Reuters) - Middle East crude benchmarks Oman, Dubai and Murban drifted lower on Tuesday, as exports of Kurdish oil, mainly sour crude, are expected to resume soon. Iraq's federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) have reached a final deal to restart northern oil exports to be announced Tuesday, official sources told Reuters. The market also awaited the official selling prices from Saudi Arabia, top oil exporter, which is typically released around the fifth of each month. ASIAN REFINERIES PetroChina has started maintenance at its 240,000 barrels-per-day (bpd) Urumqi refinery from April 3. The refinery will be shut for around 80 days. PetroChina has also started a 48-days overhaul at its 180,000 bpd Liaoyang refinery from late March.
SINGAPORE CASH DEALS

Cash Dubai's premium to swaps dipped 12 cents to $1.88 a barrel.
Seller-Buyer Price PETROCHINA-VITOL 85.10 PHILLIPS 66-VITOL 85.10 PHILLIPS 66-VITOL 85.10 PETROCHINA-GLENCORE 85.05 PETROCHINA-MITSUI 85.05 PETROCHINA-VITOL 85.05 PETROCHINA-GLENCORE 85.05 PHILLIPS 66-VITOL 85.05 PHILLIPS 66-VITOL 85.05 PETROCHINA-GLENCORE 85.05 PETROCHINA-VITOL 85.05 PETROCHINA-GLENCORE 85.05 PETROCHINA-VITOL 85.05 RELIANCE-VITOL 85.05 RELIANCE-BP 85.00 RELIANCE-VITOL 85.05

PRICES ($/BBL) CURRENT PREV SESSION DME OMAN 85.11 84.11 DME OMAN DIFF TO DUBAI 1.94 2.06 CASH DUBAI 85.05 84.05

NEWS OPEC's surprise oil production cuts could lead to higher demand for U.S. oil in Europe and Asia and could encourage some other producers to boost output, industry executives and analysts said on Monday. Record volumes of Russian diesel poured into the Middle East in March, shiptracking data showed, as traders cashed in on low prices to stock up the fuel at the Fujairah hub of the United Arab Emirates and in Saudi Arabia, which is boosting exports. U.S. crude oil and product inventories were seen falling last week, a preliminary Reuters poll showed on Monday.

For crude prices, oil product cracks and refining margins, please click on the RICs below.
Brent Dubai DME Oman Brent/Dubai EFS PRODUCT CRACKS
Fuel oil crack Gasoil crack Naphtha crack Complex refining margins (Reporting by Muyu Xu; Editing by Rashmi Aich)

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Reuters

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Middle East Crude-Benchmarks drop; Kurdish oil export restart deal to be announced

By Reuters

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