ME Crude-Benchmarks Mixed; Shell to Receive 6th Cargo

Middle East crude benchmarks Oman and Dubai were mixed on Thursday amid thin trade. Shell took delivery of another Upper Zakum crude cargo from Unipec at the end of Thursday's trading session, bringing the total number of cargoes that Shell purchased from the window so far to six. Indian refiner MRPL was expected to award its crude purchase tender on Friday. Japanese state-backed oil producer Japan Petroleum Exploration Co (Japex) warned on Thursday of a 90 billion yen (US$820 million) loss from exiting its Hangingston oil sands project in Canada, sending its shares down. 

U.S. oil output could take more than four years to reach pre-pandemic levels, oil producer Hess CorpHES.N said on Wednesday, sticking to its spending plan despite rising demand to focus on shareholders returns over growth. U.S. crude stockpiles last week fell to their lowest since January 2020 as imports and production dropped, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday.