Oman Oil Official Price Rises for 1st Time Since July
Oman oil’s official price on the Dubai Mercantile Exchange Ltd. rose for the first time since July after OPEC’s compliance with output cuts limited supplies from the Middle East for Asian refiners.
Oman crude oil for March loading was set at $44.34 a barrel, up 8.7 percent from February’s $40.79 a barrel, based on a Bloomberg calculation of the average of the settlement prices in the past month’s trading. The March futures contract settlement for today was $44.29 at 12:30 p.m. Dubai time, the exchange said today in an e-mail.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed on Dec. 17 to cut their output by 4.2 million barrels a day from September levels. Group members Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Iran told Asian refiners that they would be receiving as much as 15 percent less oil under their long-term contracts because of the reductions in supply.
“The OPEC cuts are having a significant impact especially in Asia,” said Ehsan Ul-Haq, head of research at JBC Energy GmbH in Vienna in a telephone interview. “Asia is too much dependent on the Middle East and if OPEC decides to cut production then it has a remarkable impact.”
Oman crude oil for March loading was at a premium of 13 cents a barrel to its official selling price, according to data compiled by Bloomberg News. Murban, produced by Abu Dhabi National Oil Co., for March loading rose 1 cent to a premium of 19 cents a barrel over its official selling price.
Oman crude oil for immediate loading climbed 49 cents, or 1.1 percent, to $44.29 a barrel. Dubai oil for loading in March increased 20 cents to $45.35 a barrel. Murban crude rose 1.2 percent to $45.37 a barrel.
The Brent-Dubai exchange for swaps for March widened 17 cents to 79 cents a barrel and the exchange for swaps for April widened 1 cent to $1.82 a barrel, according to data from PVM Oil Associates. The exchange for swaps is the price difference between the Brent and Dubai swaps contracts.