MOSCOW (MRC) -- Saudi Aramco has allocated full-term crude volumes to most Asia-Pacific refiners, with some buyers seeking incremental volumes to take advantage of the recent sharp cuts in official selling prices, sources at refineries in China, Japan, Malaysia and India told S&P Global Oct. 11.
Refiners in the region are expecting to receive full-term nominations following a cut in official selling prices as well as producers adding more crude supplies to the market, the sources said.
"Demand increase versus incremental, if Saudi and AG producers give enough to cover demand increase, market wont get support (and) vice versa," a crude oil trader in Singapore said.
Earlier this month, OPEC and its allies stuck to their original plan to increase crude oil production in November by just 400,000 b/d at the Oct. 4 meeting.
Oil prices have been on the rise amid stronger winter season demand, further boosted by spiralling gas and coal prices.
Though full allocations could sap spot appetite, stronger demand from key economies such as China, Japan and India may sustain momentum when trade commences this month, trade sources said.
"Saudi allocation will keep the spot market in a reasonable range, but the risk is demand, such as RongSheng tender, demand maybe very good this month," another crude oil trader in Singapore said.
As MRC reported earlier, Mukesh Ambani, chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), said in June 2021 he expects the company's deal with Saudi Aramco to materialise this year. Meanwhile, Yasir Al-Rumayyan, chairman of Saudi Aramco and the Governor of the Public Investment Fund, joined the board of Reliance as an independent director.
Ethylene and propylene are the main feedstocks for the production of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), respectively.
According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,396,960 tonnes in January-July 2021, up by 7% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 841,990 tonnes in the first seven months of 2021, up by 29% year on year. Supply of propylene homopolymers (homopolymer PP) and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas supply of statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) subsided.
Saudi Aramco, officially the Saudi Arabian Oil Company, is a Saudi Arabian national oil and natural gas company based in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. Saudi Aramco's value has been estimated at up to USD10 trillion in the Financial Times, making it the world"s most valuable company. Saudi Aramco has both the largest proven crude oil reserves, at more than 260 billion barrels, and largest daily oil production.
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