Middle East Crude-Benchmarks premiums ease on better supply outlook

SINGAPORE, Sept 17 (Reuters) - Spot premiums for Middle East crude benchmarks Oman, Dubai and Murban eased on Thursday, as traders eyed more supply after Saudi Arabia offered extra crude cargoes through Oman.

Saudi Arabia offered more crude cargoes to Asian refiners through ship-to-ship transfers off Oman's Sohar port, people familiar with the matter said, helping offset some of the disruption caused by attacks on the East-West Pipeline to the Red Sea.

Some buyers in Asia are still in discussion with state oil company Aramco on the purchases, trade sources said on Thursday.

Concerns about weaker buying after a surge in spot prices also weighed on the market.

SINGAPORE CASH DEALS

Cash Dubai's premium to swaps fell 93 cents to $29.03 a barrel.

Unipec will deliver three November-loading Murban crude cargoes following the deals, to ExxonMobil, Trafigura and TotalEnergies.

PRICES ($/BBL)

NEWS

Two pumping stations serving the vital East-West Pipeline in Saudi Arabia were damaged in an attack last week, with a repair timeline unclear, according to assessments from three oil and security sources.

India has warned Washington that new measures to levy tariffs over the purchase of Russian oil could impact bilateral ties, the South Asian nation's foreign ministry said on Thursday, hours after the U.S. made a new move to punish such buyers.

A Ukrainian drone attack damaged an oil refinery in the Russian city of Yaroslavl, causing a fire that was later doused, regional Governor Mikhail Yevrayev said on Thursday on the Telegram messaging app.

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