Qatar Energy hiked the price for term cargoes of al-Shaheen crude oil loading in November to the highest in 2023, trade sources said on Friday, amid tight sour crude supply after Saudi Arabia extended its output cut to the end of the year.
The November price was set at about $2.73 a barrel above Dubai quotes, up from October’s $2.10 a barrel and hitting the highest level since December 2022.
Top oil exporter Saudi Arabia announced to prolong its 1 million barrels per day unilateral production cut to end-2023, driving up the spot premiums for sour crude oil. Meanwhile, refining margins DUB-SIN-REF remains strong, prompting refiners to ramp up output.
Higher al-Shaheen term price also comes as the total number of al-Shaheen crude available for trade for November falls to 13 cargoes from 16 cargoes in October.
The term price was decided after Qatar Energy sold three al-shaheen cargoes for November-loading via its monthly tender.
Idemitsu, ExxonMobil and Shell have bought the three cargoes at price range of $2.20 to $2.77 a barrel above Dubai quotes. The cargoes are to load on Nov. 2-3, Nov. 24-25 and Nov. 28-29.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Muyu Xu; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Rashmi Aich)