Saudi Arabia’s crude oil exports to China are set to touch a multi-year high in March after the kingdom cut its official selling prices to Asia for a fourth month and attracted more demand, several trade sources said.
State oil company Saudi Aramco 2222.SE will ship at least 58 million barrels to China in March, or about 1.87 million barrels per day (bpd), a tally of allocations to Chinese refiners from trade sources showed.
The allocation volume marks a jump from the previous two months, when it stayed under 50 million barrels, and is the highest since October 2022, Reuters records show.
Companies that planned to increase Saudi crude liftings next month included PetroChina 601857.SS, Rongsheng Petrochemical 002493.SZ and Sinochem, the tally showed.
Hengli Petrochemical 600346.SS will lift zero volume for a third consecutive month, the sources said.
Aramco declined to comment on its March crude allocation to China. The refining companies did not respond to requests for comment.
The March OSP for Arab Light crude was set at parity with the Oman/Dubai average, down from a premium of $0.30 a barrel in February and a fourth consecutive monthly cut.
The March OSP is the lowest since December 2020, Reuters data showed, although the 30-cent price cut was smaller than expected.
