Middle East Crude-Dubai slips for fourth session as Saudi Arabia to resume Yanbu exports

SINGAPORE, Sept 22 (Reuters) - Middle East crude benchmark Dubai slipped for a fourth session as Saudi Arabia restarted its East-West Pipeline and could resume exports from the Red Sea port of Yanbu later on Tuesday.

Saudi Aramco has also been ramping up exports from the Gulf. The producer loaded about 14 million barrels of crude on seven supertankers inside the Mideast Gulf on Sunday, data from TankerTrackers.com showed.

SINGAPORE CASH DEALS

Cash Dubai's premium to swaps dropped $3.42 to $18.13 a barrel.

Unipec will deliver a cargo of November-loading Murban crude each to Total and BP following the deals.

PRICES ($/BBL)

REFINERY

Russia's major Moscow refinery, owned by Gazprom Neft, has halted crude oil processing after fires broke out at its primary crude distillation units following a Ukrainian drone attack on September 20, three industry sources said.

NEWS

An armed military group closed valve seven on Libya's Sharara crude pipeline to Zawiya port on Monday, resulting in a significant decline in production at the Sharara oilfield, the National Oil Corporation said in a statement.

Diesel prices have rallied in Europe and the United States to record highs as wars in Iran and Ukraine sharply cut exports from some of the biggest producers such as Russia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, with little options to prevent further gains.

A global diesel shortage fueled by wars in Iran and Ukraine is unlikely to ease before next year, according to storage market indicators and industry participants, extending a spike in fuel costs that is weighing on economies worldwide.

Russia sharply increased diesel exports to Central Asian countries in August despite a ban on supplies to most foreign markets, traders said on Monday, citing recovering output.

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