Tanzania resumed imports of Omani crude, joining India, Japan and Myanmar as destinations for oil shipments from the Sultanate during March this year.
However, China retained its top position as the dominant importer of Omani crude, accounting for 81.37 per cent of total exports of 27.704 million barrels during the month, the Ministry of Oil and Gas stated in its monthly review.
According to the report, Asian markets snatched a big bite out of Omani crude oil exports during March 2019 compared to volumes during February 2019. China remained the largest importer of Oman export blend crude oil, lifting 81.37 per cent — which was higher by 0.17 per cent compared with figures for February. Shipments to India and Japan declined 2.77 per cent and 2.47 per cent respectively to reach 3.88 per cent and 5.44 per cent of total imports for the month. Significantly, Tanzanian buyers resumed imports with a 1.56 per cent share of total Omani exports for the month.
The Sultanate’s total production of crude oil and condensate throughout March 2019 amounted to 30.070 million barrels, representing a daily average of 970,024 barrels. Total export reached 25.704 million barrels, representing a daily average of 829,169 barrels.
The pie chart below illustrates the destinations and percentages of the countries importing Oman crude oil during the month of March 2019.
Futures trading of crude oil prices witnessed a healthier trading movement during March 2019 compared with February 2019 for most major crude oil benchmarks around the world. The average price for West Texas Intermediate crude oil at the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) has averaged $58.40, which was up by $3.18 compared to previous trading month. The average price for North Sea Brent mix at the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) in London ended at $67.03 per barrel, which was up $2.60 compared with the February 2019 average.
Likewise, the average price for Oman Crude Oil Future’s Contract at the Dubai Mercantile Exchange (DME) witnessed a hike by 3.9 per cent compared to the previous month.
The official selling price for Oman Crude Oil during trading of March 2019, for the delivery month of May 2019, settled at $66.98, which was higher by $2.50 compared with February 2019 trading prices. The daily average trading marker price ranged between $68.31 per barrel and $65.30 per barrel.
“The higher prices of crude oil during the March 2019 trade was influenced by several positive factors that directly affected oil prices. Most notably, Venezuela’s large-scale power cuts helped cut supply in the market by halting crude exports from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec), whose shipments have already shrunk due to US sanctions. Prices have also been supported by the continuation of Opec and its allies to cut production for six months starting in January 2019, which has pledged to cut production by 1.2 million barrels per day since the beginning of the year to reduce the surplus and support prices. In addition, the market has gained due to the decline in the number of US oil rigs, where the number of drilling platforms is a preliminary indicator of the volume of production in the future,” the ministry added.
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