Middle East Crude-Oman, Murban extend gains to new highs

Middle East Crude-Oman, Murban extend gains to new highs

SINGAPORE- Middle East crude benchmark Oman and Murban extended gains on Thursday to hit fresh all-time highs, while cash Dubai held steady.

Brent's premium to Dubai swaps a barrel hit a fresh 2013 high of $6.48 a barrel, traders said, up 37 cents from Wednesday.

The steep premiums within Europe are keeping Brent-linked supplies from Europe and Africa out of Asian buyers' reach, limiting their options to Middle East and Russian grades.

Strong demand for these grades pushed Middle East benchmark Dubai and spot premiums for Abu Dhabi's Murban and Qatari al-Shaheen crude to record levels this week, while Russian grades ESPO Blend and Sokol are at more than two-year highs.

Qatar Energy has sold al-Shaheen crude loading in April at an average of $4.44 a barrel above Dubai quotes, an all-time high, several trade sources said, a jump from $2.67 on average last month.

The producer subsequently set the April term price at a premium of $4.45 a barrel, they said.

Unipec bought two of the cargoes, the sources said. Buyers for the other two cargoes were not immediately known.

The cargoes are for loading on April 1-2, 21-22, 27-28 and 28-29.

Qatar Energy has also sold condensate for April loading at higher premiums. Low-sulphur condensate premiums