據世界石油4月14日新加坡報道，沙特剛剛簽署的可能是歷史上最著名的石油產量協議之一，但由于沙特面臨著來自競爭對手的激烈競爭，在這個寶貴的亞洲市場，未來的挑戰依然存在。

這或許可以解釋，為何歐佩克的實際領導者本周大幅下調了5月份對亞洲客戶的官方售價，幅度超出預期。接受彭博社調查的11家亞洲煉油商中，有8家對沙特阿美激進的營銷策略表示歡迎，其余3家表示，它們預計降價幅度會更大。

盡管價格戰在上周末得以平息，但我們沒有理由認為，隨著疫情繼續抑制需求，涌入亞洲的廉價原油洪流將迅速消退。近幾周，俄羅斯的烏拉爾、美國的瑪氏和幾個阿布扎比等級的原油品種開始向買家供應，交貨日期靈活，因為交易商將裝滿未售出原油的超級油輪運往亞洲。

沙特阿美將其5月份面向亞洲客戶的旗艦產品阿拉伯輕質原油的官方售價較上月下調了4.20美元/桶，降幅超出了預期的3.63美元/桶。這是在它與其他生產商簽署了一項協議，將全球產量削減約10%以試圖支撐價格之后。

據不愿透露姓名的交易商稱，僅西非就有約2,000萬桶4月份裝運的原油未售出。他們表示，這是5月份該地區未售出的貨物供應的總和，估計至少是上個月的三倍。

三家獨立交易商稱，中東地區非沙特產油國的原油也有供應，阿曼和上扎庫姆等不同等級的原油以靈活的方式供應，允許買家選擇他們的理想交貨期。

除了供應過剩，沙特阿美和其他公司還在努力應對需求持續萎縮的問題，尤其是在印度，該國已實施了全球規模最大的封鎖。伊拉克本周早些時候表示，由于供應過剩、油價下跌以及該國石油部長所稱的全球煉油業“衰退”，該國在原油營銷方面遇到了困難。

亞洲煉油商必須在本周中旬之前決定從沙特阿美購買的石油量。科威特、伊拉克和阿布扎比等其它產油國將很快發布官方售價。

裘寅 編譯自 世界石油

原文如下：

Saudi discounts oil to Asia, defending market share after OPEC+ cuts

Saudi Arabia might have just signed off on one of the most notable oil output deals in history, but challenges lie ahead as the kingdom faces keen competition from rival suppliers to the prized Asian market.

That perhaps explains why the de-facto leader of OPEC slashed its official selling prices to Asian customers for May by larger-than-expected margins this week. Eight of eleven refiners across the region surveyed by Bloomberg welcomed Saudi Aramco’s aggressive marketing strategy, while the remaining three said they had expected even steeper discounts.

Despite the price war being defused over the weekend, there’s no reason to think that the deluge of cheap crude washing over Asia will ebb quickly as the coronavirus continues to depress demand. Varieties such as Russia’s Urals, Mars from the U.S. and several Abu Dhabi grades crude were being offered in recent weeks to buyers on a delivered basis with flexible arrival dates as traders moved supertankers filled with unsold oil toward Asia.

Aramco cut the May official selling price of its flagship Arab Light crude to Asian customers by $4.20 a barrel from the previous month, exceeding estimates for a reduction of $3.63. That was even after it signed a deal with other producers to cut global output by around 10% to try and support prices.

Strong Competition. About 20 million barrels of April-loading crude remains unsold from West Africa alone, according to traders who asked not to be identified. That’s on top of unsold May-loading supplies from the region that are estimated to be at least triple that of the month before, they said.

Crude from non-Saudi producers in the Middle East is also available with grades including Oman and Upper Zakum being offered on a flexible basis, allowing buyers’ to pick out their preferred arrival periods, three separate traders said.

As well as the supply glut, Aramco and others are grappling with demand that’s continuing to shrivel, particularly in India, which has enforced the world’s biggest lockdown. Iraq said earlier this week that it had trouble marketing its crude amid the supply glut, lower prices and what the country’s oil minister called a “recession” in refining around the world.

Refiners in Asia have until the middle of this week to decide on the amount of oil they want to buy from Aramco. Other producers such as Kuwait, Iraq and Abu Dhabi are set to issue their official prices shortly.