SINGAPORE, March 19 (Reuters) - Middle East crude benchmarks Oman and Dubai edged higher on Wednesday while Brent crude futures flipped to a discount against Dubai swaps, the first time since November 2023, LSEG data showed.

The Brent-Dubai Exchange of Futures for Swaps (EFS) DUB-EFS-1M was assessed at minus 2 cents a barrel at Wednesday's market close at 0430 GMT, LSEG data showed.

The discount has since widened further to 14 cents a barrel, two trade sources said. Sweet, or low-sulphur oil, is typically more expensive than those with higher sulphur content as they are easier to process.

Brent's weakness against Dubai has opened up arbitrage opportunities for sweet crude produced in the Atlantic Basin to head to Asia, another trader said.

The price spreads between dated Brent and Dubai are also in discounts for April to June contracts, he added.

RUSSIAN CRUDE

A ship carrying Russian crude transferred from three smaller tankers that are under U.S. sanctions unloaded last week at a Chinese port, shiptracking data shows, ending an unusual month-long voyage highlighting the efforts of producers and traders to keep Moscow's oil flowing despite tightened curbs.

The Panama-flagged Daban, one of dozens of non-sanctioned vessels drawn to the Russian oil trade by fat margins following the January 10 U.S. sanctions, was received at a berth run by the privately controlled Qingdao Haiye Group at the port of Qingdao, two people familiar with the matter said.

The Daban transferred oil from Aframax-sized tankers Vladimir Arsenyev on February 3, Captain Kostichev on February 9 and Victor Konetsky on February 10 at Nakhoda Bay in Russian territorial waters, according to tanker tracker Kpler. The three vessels came under U.S. sanctions on January 10.

SINGAPORE CASH DEALS

Cash Dubai's premium to swaps rose 2 cents to $1.58 a barrel.

PetroChina will deliver a May-loading Murban crude cargo to Vitol following the deals.

PRICES ($/BBL)

NEWS

Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed on Tuesday to stop attacking Ukrainian energy facilities temporarily but declined to endorse a full 30-day ceasefire that President Donald Trump hoped would be the first step toward a permanent peace deal.

Sales of marine fuel at top global refuelling ports are slowing at the start of this year as the shipping sector grapples with uncertainty over geopolitics and the impact of escalating tariffs on global trade, industry sources said.

Eni ENI.MI has agreed to sell stakes in upstream assets in Ivory Coast and the Republic of the Congo to global energy trader Vitol, the Italian energy group said on Wednesday.

Iraqi naval forces have seized an unidentified ship in Iraqi territorial waters in the Gulf suspected of smuggling fuel, the naval forces said in a statement.

For crude prices, oil product cracks and refining margins, please click on the RICs below.

(Reporting by Florence Tan; Editing by Shreya Biswas)

((Florence.Tan@thomsonreuters.com; Reuters Messaging: florence.tan.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))

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