For the first time this year, oil price has risen from $79 to $82.00 per barrel in the international market following high demand from major importing countries.
Specifically, the price of Brent, usually used to benchmark other prices rose from $ 79.90 to $82.10 while the WTI and the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC basket of 15 crudes stood at $ 72.32 and $78.81 per barrel respectively.
In its report sent to Vanguard, OPEC stated, “the price of OPEC basket of fifteen crudes stood at $78.81 a barrel on Monday, compared with $77.08 the previous Friday, according to OPEC Secretariat calculations.
“The OPEC Reference Basket of Crudes (ORB) is made up of the following: Saharan Blend (Algeria), Girassol (Angola), Djeno (Congo), Oriente (Ecuador), Zafiro (Equatorial Guinea), Rabi Light (Gabon), Iran Heavy (Islamic Republic of Iran), Basra Light (Iraq), Kuwait Export (Kuwait), Es Sider (Libya), Bonny Light (Nigeria), Qatar Marine (Qatar), Arab Light (Saudi Arabia), Murban (UAE) and Merey (Venezuela).”
Reuters disclosed that Independent refiners in China’s Shandong province imported 42.4 million tonnes of crude in the first half of 2018, 41.4 percent higher than a year earlier, a senior refinery executive said on Tuesday.
It stated that, “demand from Chinese refiners for Angolan crude has been robust this month. Only around 40 percent of the 46 cargoes in the November programme are still available for sale.
“Traders said offers for November-loading Girassol were around $1.40-1.45 a barrel above the dated Brent price, compared with recent indications of closer to 70 cents a barrel, while Cabinda has been offered at a premium of $1.00 a barrel above dated Brent, up from closer to 50 cents recently.”
Commodity merchants, Trafigura and Mercuria, had said oil prices could rise towards $100 per barrel towards the end of the year or by early 2019 as sanctions against Iran bite.
