On June 10, several sources familiar with the matter revealed that Saudi Aramco , the world's largest oil company , has notified at least five refineries in North Asia ( four of which are in China ) that the company's actual crude oil supply in July will be lower than the amount stipulated in the contract. Saudi Aramco has not responded to the matter.
Reuters and Bloomberg analysis said that on the one hand, China increased its purchase of discounted oil from Russia after the Russian-Ukrainian conflict; On the other hand, under pressure from the United States, Europe and some Asian countries are reducing their imports of Russian crude oil, so the demand for Saudi Aramco crude oil has climbed.
Screenshot of foreign media reports
"Saudi Arabia's crude oil supply is very tight in the market," said one Singaporean trader.
Although Saudi Aramco does not usually provide buyers with a reason for the reduction in supply. But several people familiar with the matter said Saudi Aramco was interested in meeting demand from other buyers in Europe and Asia. They revealed that countries such as Japan, South Korea and Thailand will get the amount of crude oil they need, and some of them will even receive additional supplies. In addition, at least 3 European refineries have also received the full supply for July stipulated in the contract.
After announcing a ban on Russian energy, the United States co-opted allies to implement a ban on Russian oil. Finally, on June 2, the European Union officially approved the sixth round of sanctions against Russia, which will prohibit the purchase of Russian oil and its refined products by sea within 6 to 8 months after the sanctions enter into law.
In sharp contrast to European and some Asian buyers scrambling to find alternative energy sources, China and India are increasing their purchases of Russian crude. Bloomberg reported in May that this "is a good opportunity for some Asian countries to discount oil significantly" that cannot be missed.
The latest statistics from S&P Global, an international financial data agency, show that European customers boycotted the purchase of Russian Ural crude oil after the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, while India bought in large quantities at a steep discount, becoming the largest international buyer of Russian oil in April.
China and Russia did not comment on this matter, but China's National Development and Reform Commission issued a statement saying that in order to properly deal with the impact of international geopolitical conflicts leading to the sharp rise in international oil and gas prices on the mainland, relevant enterprises are being organized to vigorously enhance domestic oil and gas exploration and development, and multi-party organization of resource imports to maintain the safe and stable operation of refineries.
Shortly earlier, Saudi Minister of Economy and Planning Faisal Ibrahim said in an interview with the media that China is a "very important customer", that Saudi Arabia is committed to becoming a reliable energy supplier to China, and that the two countries are exploring cooperation opportunities in infrastructure, logistics and manufacturing.
Saudi Aramco (infographic)
It is worth mentioning that Reuters mentioned in the report that Saudi Aramco recently raised the price of crude oil exports to Asia and Europe in July.
Among them, Saudi Aramco raised the price of its benchmark Arab light crude oil to Asian buyers by $2.10 per barrel. That means that in July, Asian consumers paid $6.50 more for buying the company's crude oil than the average of the then benchmark prices in Oman and Dubai.
Currently, Brent crude futures are around $120 a barrel. The latest data from the international statistics website statista shows that in May, the price of Russian Ural crude oil remained at about $78.8 per barrel.
This article is an exclusive manuscript of the Observer Network and may not be reproduced without authorization.