Daily Management Review

Reuters: Saudi Arabia buys record volumes of diesel from Russia and sells it in Singapore


05/30/2023


According to Reuters, Saudi Arabia is importing more diesel fuel from Russia than ever before. Riyadh primarily exports the inexpensive fuel it purchases from Russia to Singapore to sell it with a significant markup.



W. Bulach
W. Bulach
Up to 500,000 tonnes (3.7 million barrels) of Russian diesel fuel were imported into Saudi Arabia in May, according to the agency, most of which was destined for Ras Tanur, home of one of Saudi Aramco's refineries. 

Refinitiv and Vortexa predict that a record 400,000 tonnes of Saudi Arabian diesel will enter Singapore soon. Analysts polled Reuters directly connect the two facts.

"After the European Union restricted imports of petroleum products in February in retribution for the start of Russia's military action in Ukraine, Moscow was forced to redirect the quantities of diesel it was exporting to Europe to Saudi Arabia. Due to the tighter supply in Asia during the maintenance season, state-owned oil company Saudi Aramco was able to expand May exports to Singapore to record levels and earn greater arbitrage in the east compared to Europe," according to estimates from traders and analysts, as observed by Reuters.

source: reuters.com