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UPDATE: Saudi Aramco Cuts Oil Prices For Asia, Europe In Feb

Wednesday, Jan 04, 2012

-- Saudi Arabia lowers official selling prices for Europe, Asia, raises price of light crudes to U.S.

-- Price adjustments in line with expectations.

-- Analysts see prices remaining strong this year as Kingdom seeks to adjust output to accommodate Libya.

(Adds trader, analyst comment, background, price table)

   By Sarah Kent 
   Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES 
 

LONDON (Dow Jones)--State-owned Saudi Arabian Oil Co., or Aramco, Wednesday cut most of its official selling prices for February term supply of crude oil, in line with traders' expectations.

In a statement seen by Dow Jones Newswires the company cut prices of crude to Asia and Europe, with many grades set at their lowest level since October last year.

"We expect with Urals coming off last week [Saudi OSPs] should come off as well," said one trader with a European company that receives regular crude deliveries from Saudi Arabia.

The price of Russian benchmark Urals crude slumped last week amid concerns that the problems facing Europe's largest independent refiner, Petroplus, would dent demand.

However, analysts said that in the coming months it was unlikely that the price of Saudi crude would slip further, given that the Kingdom is widely expected to seek to cut its production in order to accommodate the return of crude supplies from Libya.

"One way to get production cuts going will be to price high," said Torbjorn Kjus, oil market analyst at DnB NOR. "In the past, it's generally been seen that when they increase the price it's a good informal way of adjusting production levels," he added.

Still, for February, only prices of light crudes travelling to the U.S., which were already comparatively cheap, were set above the levels seen in January.

Saudi Aramco 's crude oil official selling prices, in U.S. dollars a barrel, are as follows:

To Northwest Europe, as a differential to the Brent Weighted Average or BWave: 

Crude          Feb       Jan    Change 
Extra Light   +0.70    +1.95    -1.25 
Light         -1.75    -0.35    -1.40 
Medium        -3.55    -2.15    -1.40 
Heavy         -5.55    -4.25    -1.30 

To the Mediterranean, as a differential to the Brent Weighted Average or BWave: 

Crude          Feb       Jan    Change 
Extra Light    0.00    +1.55    -1.55 
Light         -2.20    -0.40    -1.80 
Medium        -3.80    -2.30    -1.50 
Heavy         -5.80    -4.45    -1.35 

To Asia, as a differential to the Oman-Dubai average: 

Crude          Feb       Jan    Change 
Super Light   +4.10    +5.90    -1.80 
Extra Light   +3.55    +5.65    -2.10 
Light         +2.05    +4.15    -2.10 
Medium        +0.75    +2.75    -2.00 
Heavy         -0.45    +1.35    -1.80 

To the U.S., as a differential to Argus Sour Crude Index: 

Crude          Feb       Jan    Change 
Extra Light   +2.20    +1.55    +0.65 
Light         +0.25    -0.05    +0.30 
Medium        -1.90    -1.90     0.00 
Heavy         -3.60    -3.30    -0.30 
 

By Sarah Kent, Dow Jones Newswires;4420-7842-9376; sarah.kent@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

04-01-12 1456GMT