據路透社7月30日報道，業內消息人士稱，隨著中東基準原油價格下跌和煉油利潤率疲弱，沙特阿拉伯可能下調9月在亞洲銷售的原油官方售價。

調查顯示，五家來自亞洲煉油廠的消息人士預計，9月阿拉伯輕質原油官方售價將減少0.61美元/桶，預測波動范圍在20美分至1美元之間。

由于第二波新冠肺炎疫情爆發，需求復蘇緩慢，壓低了本月中東原油現貨價格，加上亞洲煉油利潤率仍然疲弱。

數據顯示，盡管本月迄今為止，迪拜現金對掉期的月平均溢價僅下降了6美分，但DME Oman和cash Dubai本周自5月以來首次轉向掉期折價。

7月底，迪拜已經從現貨溢價轉變為期貨溢價，即現貨價格低于期貨價格，表明石油供應過剩。亞洲汽油、航空燃料和高硫燃料油的差價有所下降，而石腦油、汽油和低硫燃料油的差價則有所改善。

沙特原油的官方售價通常在每月5號左右發布，為伊朗、科威特和伊拉克的原油價格走勢奠定了基礎，影響到運往亞洲的超過1200萬桶/天的原油。

沙特阿美根據客戶的建議制定原油價格，并根據產量和成品油價格計算出過去一個月石油價值的變化。

王佳晶 摘譯自 路透社

原文如下：

Saudi Arabia may cut September crude oil prices to Asia: survey

Top oil exporter Saudi Arabia may cut its September official selling price (OSP) for crude sold in Asia, tracking falling Middle East benchmarks and weak refining margins, according to industry sources.

Five sources from Asian refineries on average expect the September OSP for flagship Arab Light crude to fall by 61 cents a barrel, though forecasts range from a cut of $1 to 20-30 cents, a Reuters survey showed.

Slow demand recovery amid the second wave of COVID-19 infections has depressed spot prices for Middle Eastern crude this month, while Asia’s refining margins remained weak, they said.

Although the monthly average of cash Dubai’s premium to swaps dipped by only 6 cents so far this month, DME Oman and cash Dubai this week turned to discounts to swaps for the first time since May, data compiled by Reuters showed.

Prompt Dubai has flipped from backwardation into contango in late July. The contango structure, where prompt prices are lower than future prices, usually indicates an immediate oil surplus.

Asia’s margins for gasoline, jet fuel and high sulphur fuel oil weakened in July, while cracks for naphtha, gas oil and low sulphur fuel oil showed improvement.

Saudi crude OSPs are usually released around the fifth of each month, and set the trend for Iranian, Kuwaiti and Iraqi prices, affecting more than 12 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude bound for Asia.

State oil giant Saudi Aramco sets its crude prices based on recommendations from customers and after calculating the change in the value of its oil over the past month, based on yields and product prices.