By Florence Tan and Siyi Liu
SINGAPORE (Reuters) -Top oil exporter Saudi Aramco has asked Asian buyers to lift more crude in October after the kingdom made deeper-than-expected price cuts for all grades amid growing supply, three sources familiar with the matter said.
As it seeks to reclaim market share, Saudi Aramco spoke to Asian buyers on the sidelines of this week’s APPEC conference in Singapore, nudging them to lift more crude in October, two of the sources said.
This has partly led to a delay in the allocation of October supply to its customers until possibly next week, one of them said.
Aramco did not respond to a request for comment. All the sources spoke on condition of anonymity.
On Monday, the state producer set the October price for its flagship Arab Light crude to Asia at $2.20 a barrel above the Oman/Dubai average, down $1 per barrel from a five-month high in September.
The price cut followed a weekend decision by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies led by Russia, known as OPEC+, to raise production by 137,000 barrels per day in October.
The group, which is led by Saudi Aramco and pumps about half of the world’s oil, has already boosted production targets by 2.5 million bpd since April, equivalent to about 2.4% of global demand.
Analysts said the move indicated that OPEC+ is prioritizing market share even if it risks softer prices.
While its production increase has yet to be felt in global markets due to strong Middle East oil demand in summer, the hikes are expected to tilt global oil markets into surplus and cause global benchmark Brent to fall below $60 a barrel.
Saudi crude exports to top importer China stood at about 43 million barrels in September, down from 51 million in August.
Brent crude futures retreated slightly on Thursday to $67.38 a barrel on worries over softening U.S. demand and broad oversupply risks, although losses were limited by concerns over attacks in the Middle East and Russia’s war in Ukraine. [O/R]
(Reporting by Florence Tan and Siyi Liu in Singapore; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
