6.2pc rise in Oman crude in April

Business Reporter -

Muscat, May 13 -

The average price of Oman Crude Oil Future’s Contract on the Dubai Mercantile Exchange (DME) witnessed a hike by 6.2 per cent in April 2019 compared with price trends during the previous month.

The official selling price for Oman Crude Oil during trading in April 2019, for the delivery month of June 2019, settled at $71.15, which was higher by $4.18 per barrel compared with March 2019 trading prices, the Ministry of Oil and Gas stated in its monthly review for April. The daily average trading marker price ranged between $68.24 per barrel and $74.73 per barrel.

Oman’s total production of crude oil and condensate throughout April 2019 reached 29.114 million barrels representing a daily average of 970,476 barrels. Of this total, exports reached 23.949 million representing a daily average of 798,301 barrels.

Asian markets accounted for the lion’s share of Omani crude oil exports during April 2019. China was the largest importer of Oman export blend crude oil with a 83.83 per cent share (up 2.46 per cent compared with the previous month).

Likewise, imports by Japan and India increased by 5.11 per cent and 1.74 per cent to reach 10.55 per cent and 5.62 per cent respectively from total imports.

Futures trading of crude oil prices witnessed a healthier trading movement during April 2019 compared with March 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 $63.91 (which was higher by $5.51 compared with previous trading’s month). The average price for North Sea Brent mix on the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) in London ended at $71.63 per barrel, up $4.60 compared with March 2019.

“The higher prices of crude oil during April trade 2019 were influenced by several positive factors that directly affected oil prices, most notably the imposition of US sanctions on Iran and Venezuela which thus affected oil supplies. In addition, Opec and its allies continue to cut production for six months starting in January 2019. They have pledged to cut output by 1.2 million barrels per day since the beginning of the year to reduce surplus and support prices,” the ministry said.