Latest news with #refiners
Reuters
28-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Saudi Arabia may drop July oil prices to Asia to 6-month lows after OPEC+ boosts supply
SINGAPORE, May 28 (Reuters) - The world's biggest oil exporter Saudi Arabia may cut its crude prices for Asian buyers in July to the lowest in six months, refiners said, tracking losses in benchmark prices driven by rising supply from OPEC+. The July official selling price (OSP) for flagship Arab Light crude may drop by 40 to 50 cents to between 90 cents and $1 a barrel from the previous month, four Asian refining sources said in a Reuters survey. Such a cut would put the Arab Light OSP in July at the lowest since January, Reuters data showed. Saudi crude OSPs are usually released around the fifth of each month, and set the trend for Iranian, Kuwaiti and Iraqi prices, affecting about 9 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude bound for Asia. For other Saudi grades, the July OSPs for Arab Extra Light, Arab Medium and Arab Heavy crude are expected to decrease by 30-45 cents a barrel from June, the survey showed. Oil prices have tumbled since OPEC+, which includes the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies such as Russia, agreed to increase production by nearly 1 million barrels per day (bpd) in April, May and June. Eight OPEC+ countries, set to meet on Saturday, may decide to raise output in July by a further 411,000 bpd, sources have said. The supply hikes have come just as global economic growth faces headwinds from a tariff war launched by the U.S. In a bearish sign, some crude cargoes remained unsold from the previous month, one of the survey respondents said. Rising supplies have weighed down Middle Eastern benchmarks this month, with the average cash Dubai premium to swaps at $1.21 per barrel as of May 27, down 45 cents from April's average. 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 Aramco officials as a matter of policy do not comment on the kingdom's monthly OSPs. Below are expected Saudi prices for July (in $/bbl against the Oman/Dubai average): Source: Reuters, trade
Reuters
19-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
China's surplus crude oil surged in April as refinery runs dipped: Russell
LAUNCESTON, Australia, May 19 (Reuters) - The volume of surplus crude oil in China available for storage surged in April for a second straight month as imports stayed relatively high and refinery processing slipped. China's surplus crude amounted to 1.89 million barrels per day (bpd) last month, the most since June 2023 and up from 1.74 million bpd in March, according to calculations based on official data. The sharp increase in the volume of surplus crude in March and April follows robust purchases by China, the world's biggest crude importer, of cargoes of discounted oil from countries under Western sanctions, mostly Iran and Russia. China does not disclose the volumes of crude flowing into or out of strategic and commercial stockpiles, but an estimate can be made by deducting the amount of oil processed from the total of crude available from imports and domestic output. Refiners processed 14.12 million bpd in April, according to official data released on Monday, down from 14.85 million bpd in March and also 1.4% lower than a year earlier. Crude imports were 11.69 million bpd in April, down from the 19-month high of 12.11 million bpd in March. Domestic production was 4.31 million bpd last month, down slightly from the 14-year high of 4.48 million bpd marked in March. Putting imports and domestic output together gives a total of 16.01 million bpd of crude available to refiners, leaving a surplus of 1.89 million bpd once refinery throughput of 14.12 million bpd is subtracted. For the first four months of the year, surplus crude available rose to 880,000 bpd, up from 580,000 bpd for the first quarter. For the first two months of 2025, China's refiners actually processed about 30,000 bpd more than what was available from crude imports and domestic production, the first time in 18 months that they had drawn on inventories. But the massive surpluses in March and April have reversed the earlier draw. It is worth noting that not all of this surplus crude is likely to have been added to storage, with some being processed in plants not captured by the official data. But even allowing for gaps in the official data, it is clear that in March and April China was importing crude at a far higher rate than it needs to meet its domestic fuel requirements. The question for the market is what is the likely trajectory for China's crude imports and refinery processing in the coming months. The large volume of surplus crude built up in the past months gives refiners more options. China's refineries have a track record of buying surplus crude when they deem prices to be low, but trimming imports when they believe prices have risen too high or too quickly. The rise in imports in March and April was largely a result of refiners buying Iranian and Russian crude, partly because they are discounted to other grades, but also partly due to concerns that U.S. measures to sanction vessels and buyers may prove effective. China's seaborne imports from Russia were 1.38 million bpd in April and 1.22 million bpd in March, the strongest two months since 1.51 million bpd in October last year, according to data compiled by commodity analysts Kpler. Imports from Iran were assessed by Kpler at 743,000 bpd in April, down from 1.39 million bpd in March, which was the highest month since October. It's likely that Chinese refiners will seek to continue to buy Russian and Iranian crude, if they can work around the U.S. sanctions. But if they are restricted in the volumes that they can buy from the two exporters, it also seems that they have enough crude in storage that they won't have to risk pushing prices higher by importing from other suppliers. The views expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters.
Reuters
13-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Saudi oil supply to China set to hold steady at about 48 million barrels in June, sources say
SINGAPORE, May 13 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's crude oil supply to China is set to hold steady in June, trade sources said on Tuesday. State oil firm Saudi Aramco ( opens new tab will ship about 48 million barrels to China in June, a tally of allocations to Chinese refiners showed, the same as in May.
