Middle East Crude

　In trade for Middle Eastern grades, Iraqi and Qatari grades with shipping bases within the Persian Gulf started to be traded on top of Murban and Oman with supply bases outside the Strait of Hormuz. Majors and some traders that were able to prepare for vessels inside the Persian Gulf appeared to procure spot cargoes in earnest. Meanwhile, in the tender issued by Iraqi State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO), several end-users such as oil refiners in India considered buying cargoes but companies participating in the tender appeared to be eventually limited. Iraqi cargoes ex Iraqi Basrah terminal were subject to the tender and there were seen limited players that can charter vessels into the deep area within the Percian Gulf.

African/European/Russian/American Crude

　In trade for Russian crude bound for India, several end-users, including India's state-owned Indian Oil Corp (IOC) and India's Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), along with Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL), Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL), and HPCL-Mittal Energy Ltd (HMEL), purchased Urals for August arrival earlier this week. According to market sources, sellers had lowered offers for Urals in pursuit of Indian end-users, as a recovery in supplies of Middle Eastern crudes such as Abu Dhabi and Qatari grades loosened supply/demand fundamentals for medium-heavy grades.

Asia Pacific Crude

　The supply program for Sep-loading Australian Ichthys condensate is expected to be settled as early as early next week. Sep-loading supply is expected at two to three cargoes in total, in line with typical monthly volumes. A strike that began in early Jun at INPEX's Ichthys LNG project (9.3 million MT/year) ended on Jun 17 after INPEX and Australia's Offshore Alliance reached a labor agreement. Although loadings of two Jun-loading Ichthys condensate cargoes were delayed, gas and condensate production now appears to have resumed and normalized.