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• Arcadia Petroleum Ltd. bought 75,000 barrels of benchmark Dubai crude, while Sudan’s Nile Blend sold at a higher premium and Russia’s ESPO declined.Arcadia bought three 25,000-barrel partial cargoes from Royal Dutch Shell Plc. (RDSA), according to a survey today of traders who monitor the Platts trading window. London-based Arcadia has purchased 300,000 barrels of Dubai crude in January.ONGC Videsh Ltd. (ONGC), the overseas unit of India’s largest oil explorer, sold a 600,000-barrel cargo of Sudan’s Nile Blend crude to Japan’s Mitsubishi Corp. (8058) at a premium of about $4.50 a barrel to ICP Minas, said two traders who participate in the market, declining to be identified because the information is confidential. The shipment for Feb. 16-20 sold at a higher premium than a January cargo, which sold at $2.50 to $3 a barrel. Russia’s TNK-BP (TNBP) sold two 100,000-metric ton cargoes of East Siberian Pacific Ocean crude, or ESPO, for loading in early March to buyers including China International United Petroleum & Chemical Co., known as Unipec, according to three traders who participate in the market, declining to be identified because the information is confidential.

• The ESPO cargo was sold at a premium of $6 to $6.30 to Dubai, down from as much as $6.50 for a cargo in February. A second cargo was sold to Shell at a similar price, according to four traders. Su Tu DenPV Oil Co., Vietnam’s state-owned oil marketing company, sold two 300,000 to 450,000-barrel cargoes of Su Tu Den crude for March at premiums around $8 a barrel to Minas, said three traders who participate in the market and who asked not to be identified because the information is confidential.Italy’s ENI SpA and Japan’s Inpex Corp. will offer two 550,000-barrel shipments of Australia’s Kitan crude in March, according to two traders who participate in the market and who asked not to be identified, citing company policy.

• Dubai crude’s backwardation, when the price of early shipments is greater than for later deliveries, narrowed. Dubai swaps for February fell 7 cents to 94 cents a barrel more than April, according to data from PVM Oil Associates Ltd., a London- based broker. A narrower backwardation implies weaker demand for prompt oil.Murban (PGCPMURB) crude, produced in Abu Dhabi, dropped 4 cents to a discount of 24 cents a barrel below its official selling price today, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Qatar Marine (PGCPQRMR) slid 7 cents to a discount of 50 cents, the widest since June 17, the data showed.The spot price of Dubai (PGCRDUBA) fell 56 cents to $110.05 a barrel, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Oman futures for March delivery rose 42 cents to $111.17 a barrel on the Dubai Mercantile Exchange at 4:40 p.m. Singapore time, with 1,841 contracts traded. The contract settled at $111.01 at 12:30 p.m. Dubai time.

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