Saudi Arabia left the official selling price of its crude oil selling in Asia in November unchanged from the October prices as OPEC+ continues to lift production amid a market concerned about an imminent oversupply.
Saudi Aramco, the Kingdom’s oil giant and the world’s single largest crude exporter, set the official selling price (OSP) of its flagship Arab Light grade at a premium of $2.20 per barrel over the Dubai/Oman benchmark, according to the price list shared by Amena Bakr, Head of Middle East Energy & OPEC+ Insights at Kpler.
The unchanged price for next month wasn’t expected by Asian refiners that forecast last week that Saudi Arabia would raise, albeit slightly, the price of its flagship crude grade loading for Asia in November, to reflect stronger Middle Eastern oil benchmarks.
The world’s top crude exporter will be tempted to increase its prices amid stronger international benchmarks in recent weeks, but it would also be careful not to hike the price too much amid ongoing discussions about the 2026 term supplies with customers, refining sources told Reuters in a survey last week.
Saudi Arabia, however, held the Arab Light price unchanged and lowered slightly the prices of Arab Medium and Arab Heavy for Asia after OPEC+ announced on Sunday another slight increase in production levels for November, 137,000 barrels per day (bpd).
The prices for all grades to all other regions were lowered by between $0.50 and $1.20 per barrel compared to the regional benchmarks as the Saudis, like OPEC+, remain cautious going into the season of lower demand.
Analysts expect oversupply to form on the market later this quarter and in early 2026. In uncertain demand conditions, Saudi Arabia appears to prefer to keep prices steady and continue gaining market share.
Saudi Arabia typically announces around the fifth of each month its crude pricing for the following month and doesn’t comment on price changes. It also sets the tone for the pricing of the other major oil producers in the Middle East to Asia.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com