April 09, 2024 [Reuters]- Saudi Arabia has raised the official selling price (OSP) for its flagship Arab Light crude oil for customers in Asia and the Mediterranean in May, an Aramco statement showed on Friday.

Saudi Aramco set the OSP for Asian buyers at a $2.00 premium to the Oman/Dubai average, up by 30 cents from the April price.

The increase in the Arab Light price to Asia was broadly in line with expectations. The price was seen rising by 20 to 30 cents a barrel from April, according to a Reuters survey of five refining sources.

Aramco’s Mediterranean OSP for the grade was set at ICE Brent minus 10 cents for May, narrowing from a 20 cent discount in April.

The company’s Arab Light OSPs for Northwest European and U.S. customers will be unchanged on the month, at ICE Brent plus 30 cents and ASCI plus $4.75 respectively.

Aramco raised its May prices for heavier grades the most.

Tighter supply for medium and heavy grades due to oilfield maintenance in Saudi Arabia, OPEC+ production cuts and rising domestic consumption in several Middle East producing countries were expected to support May OSPs for Saudi Arabia’s Arab Medium and Arab Heavy, sources said before the prices were released.

Asian refiners’ losses on high-sulphur fuel oil have also narrowed, underpinning prices for Saudi crude which yields a large portion of the residue.

State oil giant Saudi Aramco sets its crude prices based on recommendations from customers and after calculating the change in the value of its oil over the past month, based on yields and product prices.

Saudi crude OSPs set the trend for Iranian, Kuwaiti and Iraqi prices, affecting about 9 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude bound for Asia.

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