September 17, 2021 [Argus] – Saudi Arabia will supply at least four of its term customers in northwest Europe and the Mediterranean with the full amount of crude that they requested for October, two other buyers in the region refrained from requesting any Saudi supplies next month.
State-controlled Saudi Aramco granted at least four customers in Asia-Pacific their October allocations.
Buyers were due to submit Saudi crude nominations on 6 September, a day after Aramco released its official October formula prices. Some traders said next month’s northwest European and Mediterranean prices are unattractive, given depressed regional demand.
Aramco left October prices for northwest European buyers unchanged on the month, while trimming prices for Mediterranean destinations by 5-10¢/bl on a fob Ras Tanura and fob Sidi Kerir basis.
Iraqi crude marketer Somo today broke with its normal pattern of following Aramco’s monthly price adjustments by implementing deeper 75¢-$1.55/bl cuts for Europe-bound cargoes. Somo groups the northwest Europe and Mediterranean sale regions under a single European marketing area. It also benchmarks against North Sea Dated, whereas Aramco prices against Ice Brent.
As the Opec+ coalition gradually unwinds its production cuts, Saudi Arabia’s crude output quota will rise from just over 9.7mn b/d this month to 9.81mn b/d next month. Direct crude burn for air conditioning and power generation picks up in Saudi Arabia during the summer season, but starts to ebb in September, leaving more output available for export or storage.
Saudi crude exports picked up by 115,000 b/d on the month to 6.38mn b/d in August, according to Argus estimates. The figures include Riyadh’s share of exports from the Neutral Zone that it shares with neighbouring Kuwait, and they exclude Bahraini shipments from Saudi terminals.
Click Here to Access Today a 7,000 Tank Terminal Database With a Pro Trial
7,000 terminals as per the date of this article. Click on the button and register to get instant access to actionable tank storage industry data
