Saudi Arabia has told its main Japanese and South Korean term buyers it will supply full contracted volumes of crude oil in December, as it did in November, Japanese and South Korean refiners said on Thursday. Other Middle East producers were also expected to supply full contract volumes in December, steady from November.
"(The Saudi move) was expected as Saudi Arabia has done this for several months," said an official at a Japanese refiner.
Saudi Arabia, Opec's biggest oil producer, has been supplying full contract volumes to Japan and South Korea since May.
In April, Saudi term supplies to Japan were set at 12-13 percent below full contract volumes, traders said. Kuwait and Iran would also likely maintain December supply at full contracted volumes, steady from November, traders and industry officials in Japan and South Korea said.
Saudi Arabia's December allocations to other parts of the globe were also steady compared with November. Late on Wednesday, Saudi Arabia told global oil majors it would keep December supplies to them steady at November levels.
For US majors, crude allocations will be steady at 5 to 10 percent under contract volumes for December, unchanged from last month. European customers will get the same volume in December as in November, while some refiners reported small cuts.