Saudi Arabia to limit July oil volumes to Asian nations

DUBAI/SINGAPORE: Saudi Arabia, the world’s top oil exporter, will limit volumes of crude to some Asian buyers in July and deepen cuts in allocations to the United States, industry sources with knowledge of the matter said on Monday.

State-run oil firm Saudi Aramco would supply full contracted crude volumes to at least five Asian buyers mainly in North Asia and lower volumes for some customers in India, China and South Korea, the sources told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

Cuts in crude allocations to Asia in July would be slightly deeper than in June, the sources said.

Aramco notified Asian refiners last month that it would reduce oil supplies to Asia by about 7 million barrels in June, its first cuts for that region since Opec-led output reductions took effect in January.

Elsewhere, crude allocations to the United States have been lowered significantly but Saudi Aramco kept volumes steady to Europe compared to June, two sources said. One source said volumes to the United States would be cut by about 35 per cent in July.

One of Saudi Aramco’s main buyers in China opted for lower nominations in July due to planned refinery maintenance and the more expensive Dubai benchmark, one of the sources said.

Another North Asian customer said Saudi Aramco would supply full volumes of heavy crude for a third straight month.