State-owned QatarEnergy has raised the term price for al-Shaheen crude oil loading in April to the highest in five months, several trade sources said on Friday, as better demand from India supported the Middle Eastern oil market.
The April term price for al-Shaheen crude was set at 87 cents a barrel to Dubai quotes, the people said, a jump from the term price for March, which was minus 33 cents a barrel to Dubai quotes and the highest since November's term price.
Spot premiums for Middle Eastern crude rallied this month with improving demand from India, where refiners are avoiding Russian oil to help New Delhi seal a trade deal with Washington. QatarEnergy sold six al-Shaheen cargoes, including three to Indian refiner Reliance.
The rest went to Totsa, the trading arm of TotalEnergies, and Shell, the sources said. The cargoes, each carrying about 500,000 barrels, are to load on April 1-2, 16-17, 17-18, 19-20, 25-26 and 27-28.
Separately, Qatar awarded a Qatar Marine crude cargo to Japanese refiner Eneos at a small premium. It also awarded a Qatar Land cargo to Reliance at a premium of around $1.10 per barrel, the people said.
The companies typically do not comment on their commercial deals.
(Reporting by Siyi Liu in Singapore; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Saad Sayeed)