Qatar increases Marine, Land OSPs, spot Al Shaheen seen firmer

London - (Quantum Commodity Intelligence) - Qatar's state-owned petroleum company, Qatar Petroleum, has set its Official Selling Price (OSP) for Qatar Marine crude oil in July at a premium of $1.15b to the average of Platts Oman and Dubai assessments, an increase of $0.15/b on the month, QP reported Tuesday.

The OSP for Qatar's Land crude oil was set at $0.90/b over the Oman/Dubai average, up $0.20/b from June.

The hikes were largely expected after Saudi Aramco made small increases to key grades Arab Light and Arab Medium for July earlier this month.

Qatar's Al Shaheen crude does not have an OSP, but is typically sold as a differential to Dubai via tender. Al Shaheen is closely watched by traders as it is one of the component grades delivered against the Dubai benchmark, along with Oman, Upper Zakum and Murban.

In its most recent tender, QP sold three cargoes, one in early June, one in mid-June and one loading late June.

The cargoes were heard awarded at around Dubai +$1.70 to +$1.80/b, which was comfortably higher than the June-tender cargoes awarded last month at around Dubai +$1.20/b.

Al Shaheen premiums are expected to be higher for August-loading, reflecting the steeper market structure in Dubai, with August cash Dubai at a premium of around $1.60/b to the Dubai swap. Spot cargoes trade at a differential to the Dubai swap.

Al Shaheen was valued at around Dubai swaps +$1.90/b Tuesday, according to Quantum data.