SINGAPORE, Jan 2 (Reuters) - Middle East crude benchmarks Oman and Dubai advanced in the first trading day of 2024 amid growing tension in the Red Sea, while the issuance of China's crude oil import quotas would also boost the country's crude oil demand.

China has released 179.01 million metric tons of crude import quotas for 2024, 60% more than the January batch last year as almost all the refiners received their annual allocations.

The outcome is closely watched by the market as these independent refiners now make up over a third of total imports into the world's largest buyer as more large, integrated refiners joined the fray since Beijing started giving quotas to the private-owned refiners in late 2015.

But market participants expected the navy clash in the Red Sea to have a limited impact on supporting Middle Eastern crude prices in Asia, as the oil producers in the region may divert the west-bound cargoes to the east to avoid the conflict zone, increasing supply.

OSP

The official selling price of December-loading Malaysian crude oil (MCO) grades OSP/MY has been set at $89.41 a barrel, according to a price document issued by state oil company Petronas, down by $4.97 a barrel from the previous month.

SINGAPORE CASH DEALS DEALS

Cash Dubai's premium to swaps rose 17 cents to $0.56 per barrel.

PRICES ($/BBL)

NEWS

International oil prices are likely to stay near $80 a barrel in 2024, a Reuters poll showed on Friday, as analysts said weak global growth would cap demand, while geopolitical tensions could provide support.

Nigeria's upstream oil regulator on Monday announced an annual oil and condensates production target of 2.6 million barrels per day (bpd) by 2026, an ambitious jump from 2023 levels of around 1.6 million bpd.

Rongsheng petrochemical said on Tuesday it was in talks with Saudi Aramco 2222.SE for the Chinese company to buy a 50% stake in the Saudi firm's refining unit SASREF.

U.S. energy giant ExxonMobil Corp XOM.N has formally exited the West Qurna 1 oilfield in southern Iraq and handed over its operations to PetroChina as lead contractor, a deputy oil minister told Reuters on Monday.

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

(Reporting by Muyu Xu; Editing by Sohini Goswami)

((muyu.xu@thomsonreuters.com; +65 9829 1075;))

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