Aramco Trading locks in long-term crude, naphtha supplies

Aramco Trading Co (ATC) has sealed a new deal to secure long-term crude oil supplies from state-run Kuwait Petroleum Corp (KPC) that can be processed at refineries owned by Saudi Aramco in Asia, trade sources said. ATC inked its first contract to buy Kuwaiti Export Crude (KEC) from KPC this year, three sources with knowledge of the matter said. The company is the trading arm of Saudi Aramco, the state-owned oil company of Saudi Arabia, which is the world`s largest oil exporter.

One of the sources said ATC will nominate a volume each month. Saudi Aramco and KPC declined to comment. The Kuwaiti crude supply contract is in addition to two other annual deals ATC sealed late last year to buy naphtha from Italy and Greece in 2020.

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The deals allow ATC to widen its supply sources globally beyond Saudi Arabia to secure feedstock for Saudi Aramco`s expanding refining and petrochemical base in Asia after a drone attack in September crippled its oil production facilities and forced domestic refineries to cut output, the sources said.

After the incident, ATC had to hunt for cargoes in the spot market which pushed up prices. The contracts also boosts the volume of oil that ATC trades and allows it to have direct control over where it can divert excess naphtha to when prices are favourable, the sources said.

Saudi Aramco holds shares in refining and petrochemical projects at two sites in China, one in Japan, one in Malaysia, and owns a large stake in South Korean refiner S-Oil Corp <010950.KS>, according to the company`s website.