SINGAPORE, Aug 20 (Reuters) - Middle East crude benchmark spot premiums of Oman, Dubai and Murban extended gains on Wednesday to their highest in nearly two weeks.

Traders attributed the strength to closing arbitrage of U.S. crude to Asia and firm buying of some of the grades. India's resumed buying of Russian oil, however, is expected to weigh down the prices.

India's state-run refiners Indian Oil IOC.NS and Bharat Petroleum BPCL.NS have bought Russian oil for September and October delivery, resuming purchases after discounts widened, Reuters reported on Wednesday.

The resumption in Russian oil imports by Indian state refiners could reduce supplies for top buyer China, which had stepped up purchases during their absence.

The refiners halted purchases in July due to narrower discounts and after India was criticised by Washington for its purchases of Russian oil. President Donald Trump also threatened an additional 25% levy on Indian goods, effective August 27, to penalize New Delhi for its continued buying of the oil.

Discounts for Russian flagship Urals crude have widened to about $3 per barrel, making the oil attractive for Indian refiners, while China has stepped up purchases, the officials said.

In addition to Urals, IOC has bought other Russian crude oil grades, including Varandey and Siberian Light, they said.

SINGAPORE CASH DEALS

Cash Dubai's premium to swaps rose 33 cents to $2.61 a barrel.

Phillips 66 will deliver an October-loading al-Shaheen crude cargo to PetroChina following the deals.

Hengli and Reliance will each deliver an October-loading Oman crude cargo to PetroChina following the deals.

ExxonMobil will deliver an October-loading Oman crude cargo to Trafigura following the deals.

PRICES ($/BBL)

REFINERY

BP BP.L said on Tuesday operations at its 440,000-barrel-per-day refinery in Whiting, Indiana, were affected due to flooding caused by a severe thunderstorm overnight.

NEWS

China's fuel oil imports rose further in July, hitting their highest in seven months, customs data showed on Wednesday.

Ten South Korean petrochemical companies have agreed to restructure their operations, including large cuts to their naphtha-cracking capacity, government officials said on Wednesday.

Mergers and acquisitions in the U.S. oil and gas sector more than quadrupled last year despite softer commodity prices as energy companies boosted spending to improve efficiency and profits, according to an Ernst & Young study published on Tuesday.

India's Russian oil imports declined in July after jumping the previous month as some refiners slowed purchases due to smaller discounts, while Indian fuel demand also typically dips during the monsoon season, according to trade sources and data.

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

(Reporting by Siyi Liu in Singapore; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)

((siyi.liu@thomsonreuters.com;))

RECENT CRUDE OIL TRADES:
Asia ACRU/T  Europe CRU/T Americas CRU/TU
      
CRUDE OIL MARKET NEWS      
Crude oil tenders in Asia                       CRU/TENDA
Crude oil supply outages in Asia                CRU/OUT-ASIA-O      
Refinery outages in Asia                        REF/OUT-ASIA-O      
Global arbitrage news and flows                 O/CRUDEARB      
W.African crude imports to Asia,  monthly       O/WAFRICA1      
REFINERY MAINTENANCE DIARIES      
Asia REF/A   Middle East REF/ME   Europe REF/E      
                       
NATIONAL CRUDE IMPORT DATA      
Japan     METI/JP1   China   O/CHINA1      
India     O/INDIA2   S.Korea O/KOREA1      
Indonesia O/INDO1-CRU         
                       
CRUDE OIL INVENTORY DATA      
Japan O/JAPAN1  US EIA/S  Europe O/EUROIL1      
                    
CRUDE OIL PRODUCTION/OILFIELD NEWS      
OPEC output survey OPEC/O          New Africa fields    AFR/NEW 
New projects       ENERGY/NEW      New Americas  fields AM/NEW
CRUDE OIL MARKET REPORTS      
Middle East             CRU/MAsia-Pacific         CRU/AP      
West Africa             CRU/WAF  North Sea            CRU/E      
Asia outlook            ASIA/CRU Europe outlook       EUR/CRU      
Global futures report   O/R      Technicals report    O/I      
                            
PRICES      
For all Official Selling  Prices       OSP/O      
For a POLL on oil  prices              O/POLL      
NYMEX and ICE oil  futures             OILOIL      
TOCOM crude oil  futures               0#JCO:      
Dubai, Oman swaps and  spread          ASIA/SWAP/CRUDE      
Middle East physical crude diffs       CRUDE/ASIA2      
Australia physical crude, Tapis swaps  CRUDE/ASIA1      
Asia-Pacific physical crude            CRUDE/ASIA3      
All Asian crude oil  differentials     0#C-DIF-A
All Asian crude oil outright  prices   0#C-A