Saudi to supply full Sept crude to Asia

Saudi to supply full Sept crude to Asia

Saudi Aramco, the world's largest oil company, will supply full contractual volumes of crude oil in September to at least two Asian term buyers, steady from August, industry sources familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.

August 9, 2011 8:48 by Reuters

The two buyers did not request additional crude on top of the contracted volumes, and Saudi Aramco refrained from offering them additional oil, they said.

“The (spot) market has been hovering at discounts, and there are some distressed September cargoes, so I don’t think there’s any compelling reason to ask for additional Saudi crude,” one of the sources said on condition of anonymity.

The source added that Taiwan refiner Formosa Petrochemical Corp’s recent shutdown of a 540,000 barrels per day plant following a fire also meant markets were well supplied.

The two buyers received the volumes of light and heavy grades they nominated, they added.

Top exporter Saudi Arabia has struck deals to sell 3 million barrels more oil to India in August, stepping into the gap created by regional rival Iran after it cut supply to New Delhi.

Saudi Arabia approved the extra sales for August, sources with direct knowledge of the deal said on Tuesday. The amount covers a quarter of what Iran exported on a daily basis to India before the halt. (Reporting by Osamu Tsukimori; Editing by Edmund Klamann and Michael Watson)