Saudi Aramco to Provide Full August Contractual Crude Oil Volumes to Asia

Saudi Arabian Oil Co., the world’s largest state-owned oil company, will supply full contractual volumes of crude to Asia for loading in August, according to refinery officials.

Saudi Aramco, as the company is known, will provide 100 percent of cargoes sold under long-term contracts for a ninth month, according to a survey of three refinery officials in Japan, all of whom asked to remain unidentified, citing confidentiality agreements with the Middle East producer.

The decision to provide full exports comes after the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed in March to leave output quotas unchanged for the fifth time since 2008. The group is exceeding targets by the equivalent of a little more than a supertanker a day.

Saudi Arabia maintained its June crude output at 8.29 million barrels a day, according to a Bloomberg survey of producers, analysts and oil companies. That was about 239,000 barrels a day over its daily production target of 8.051 million barrels.

Abu Dhabi National Oil Co., the state-run producer in the United Arab Emirates capital, on June 27 said it would cut August shipments of crude to buyers with long-term contracts.

Murban, the country’s largest export grade, will be reduced by 10 percent, up from 3 percent in July. Lower Zakum will be slashed by the same amount versus 5 percent for July. Umm Shaif and Upper Zakum will drop by 20 percent after July cuts of 5 percent and 10 percent respectively.

OPEC’s compliance with its quotas rose to 52 percent in June from 48 percent the month before, based on data from the Bloomberg survey. All the members of the group bound by the targets exceeded their targets, producing 26.9 million barrels a day last month.

To contact the reporter on this story: Christian Schmollinger in Singapore at christian.s@bloomberg.net

• Tweet
• More
  • Business Exchange
  • Buzz up!
  • Digg
• Print
• Email