Middle East

　 In the spot market, ADNOC in its seventh tender closed on Monday sold at least 8.00 million barrels of Upper Zakum. Main buyers were state-owned oil companies in China. Prices for these cargoes were heard at premiums of $3.00-$5.00 to Dubai quotes. ADNOC sold several cargoes of Das in a sell tender closed on Monday for Abu Dhabi grades for August to October loading. Idemitsu Kosan purchased 2.0 million barrels on a FOB basis via STS operations. Meanwhile, ADNOC sold 2.0 million barrels of Umm Lulu to a refiner in Asia in August to October loading sell tender. The price was heard at a premium of around $10 on a CFR basis.

Africa/Europe/Russia/America

　Meanwhile, talks for September-loading Angolan and Nigerian crude were expected to gather pace from the week of August 3. Substitution demand for West African crude was likely to strengthen as Middle Eastern crude supplies were declining amid disruptions to traffic through the Strait of Hormuz and heightened shipping risks in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. As a result, buying interest in September-loading Angolan and Nigerian grades remained firm, particularly among refiners in India and China. Buyers in Southeast Asia, including Indonesia's state-owned Pertamina, were also said to be considering purchases.

Asia Pacific

　A trader had won Mitsui Energy Trading Singapore's sell tender in the market previous week for one Vincent cargo for loading in mid- to late August. According to some market participants, the award price reached premiums in the $18.00-19.00s to Dated Brent. The buyer was believed to be Glencore, which "appears to have submitted a particularly competitive bid among the participants," a Singapore-based trader said.