RIYADH: Saudi Arabia is handing customers in the world’s biggest oil market sweet treats while limiting sour supplies. The producer cut volumes of its Arab Medium and Arab Heavy crude for April sales to at least two North Asian refiners, according to people with knowledge of the matter. It instead gave the buyers more of the Arab Light and Arab Extra Light varieties to compensate, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is confidential. One other buyer in the region received cuts in volumes for all grades it sought.
Saudi Arabian Oil Co. also gave full volumes of contractual supplies to two other North Asian refiners, which mostly buy lighter “sweet” crudes that typically have less sulfur and are easier to process than heavier “sour” oils. Processors in South Asia and Southeast Asia got all the oil they asked for in April. The state-run producer known as Saudi Aramco didn’t respond to an email seeking comment sent to its press office in Dhahran outside regular business hours.
The strategy to offer more of its light crudes to customers reflects its pricing for supplies. While sweet crudes are typically costlier than sour oils, Aramco’s April official selling prices show the premium of one of its lightest grades to its heaviest has shrunk to the smallest since July 2015. That’s as it seeks to defend the market share of its less sulfurous varieties at a time when similar-quality crudes are rushing to Asia from the Americas, Europe and Africa.
