Asian refiners buy spot Nov Saudi oil

According to Business Recorder, several Asian refiners have bought November Saudi crude in the spot market as Saudi Arabia pushes more oil through the Strait of Hormuz, citing sources. Chinese state-owned and independent refiners reportedly took at least 12 million barrels on a delivered basis, while two other sources said India and Taiwan were offered deliveries for November loading.

Saudi Arabia ordinarily publishes its official prices early each month and requests monthly volume nominations from regular purchasers. This time, however, it has moved volumes into spot sales because buyers held off on chartering vessels to load inside the strait over security risks tied to the Iran war, two sources said. Certain delivered cargoes carried a premium near USD20 a barrel over November official selling prices.

The sales were carried out through a tender Saudi Aramco issued last week, plus private negotiations, the sources added. Saudi Aramco had not yet commented when approached for a response.