Saudi Aramco drops Arab light, medium, heavy, and extra light premiums, offering attractive feedstock for Asian refiners.

Saudi Arabia announced a major fall in the official selling price (OSP) for crude oil headed for Asia. The publication comes after OPEC+ decided to stop production growth in early 2026. For transports in December, Saudi Aramco will sell its most valuable Arab Light grade to Asian customers at a premium of $1.00 per barrel over the Oman/Dubai average, which is $1.20 less than in November.

The Arab Heavy and Arab Medium grades, oppositely, decreased by $1.40 to premiums of $0.10 and $0.05 per barrel. The price per barrel of the Arab Extra Light grade has fallen by $1.20 to $1.30. The decreases are within market expectations, given their importance.

The step was made just days after the OPEC+ group agreed to stop future supply increases in the first quarter of 2026 after raising production by 137,000 barrels per day for December. OPEC+ has raised its production objectives by around 2.9 million barrels per day (about 2.7% of the world's supply) since April 2025. The step has recently slowed due to concerns over oversupply.

This price drop provides a relatively more attractive feedstock cost for Saudi barrels for Asian refiners, mostly those in China, India, Japan, and South Korea. The move could promote more term suggestions or immediate purchases of Saudi petroleum, because Asia is still the top seaborne crude customer. However, the decreased premium also raises concerning future demand and the possibility of oversupply.

In the future, traders will be analyzing Asian refiners December demand, especially when spot transports of Saudi barrels rise. Oil prices were trading flat just after the update, with Brent trading at $63.53 and WTI remaining at $59.61.