SINGAPORE/TOKYO. — At least seven Asian refiners will receive the full crude volumes they requested from Saudi Arabia for November loading, a sign that Saudi production has stabilized after disruptions last month, multiple sources with knowledge of the matter said.
Most of the refiners are getting the crude grades that they want, the sources said on Thursday, adding that there was no request from state-owned oil company Saudi Aramco for them to change grades.
Saudi Aramco’s oil processing facilities at Abqaiq and Khurais were attacked by missiles and drones on Sept. 14, shutting down 5.7 million barrels per day (bpd) of its production, or more than 5 percent of global supplies.
At the height of the disruption, Saudi Aramco asked customers to switch their crude grades for loadings in the second half of September and early October and pushed back crude and oil product deliveries to customers by days.
Top Saudi oil officials have said that the kingdom’s output has bounced back to 11.3 million bpd and the country was on track to regain its maximum oil production capacity of 12 million bpd by the end of November. Oil prices fell on Thursday on concerns of lower fuel demand as talks this week between the United States and China, the world’s two largest oil users, are not expected to help end the trade war between them, adding to anxieties about the global economy.
China, the world’s biggest oil importer, has lowered their expectations for talks on Thursday and Friday to end the 15-month-old trade dispute with the United States. US President Donald Trump is set to raise the tariff rate on about $250 billion of Chinese goods to 30 percent from 25 percent on Oct. 15 if some signs of progress are not seen.
The trade dispute between the world’s two largest economies has disrupted global supply chains and slowed the growth of both countries, limiting the growth of their fuel consumption. – Reuters
