Friday, October 16, 2015

Russia faces battle with Saudi Arabia over European oil market share

European oil refineries seem to be turning to Saudi instead of Russian crude. The Kingdom has been cutting prices to win market share away from Russia which accounts for 25 percent of crude consumption in Europe.
According to Reuters, oil majors Exxon, Shell, Total and Eni have been buying more crude from Riyadh for their refineries in Western Europe and the Mediterranean in the past few months at the expense of Russian oil.
"I'm buying less and less Russian crude for my refineries in Europe simply because Saudi barrels are looking more attractive. It is a no brainer for me as Saudi crude is just cheaper," a trading source in a major European company told Reuters, who preferred to stay anonymous.
The average price of Russian Urals oil in January - September 2015 was about $ 54.40 per barrel (compared to $ 105.07 for the same period last year). However, an analyst from Russia’s Uralsib bank Aleksey Kokin says Saudi contracts with European companies are looking at benchmarks such as Brent and Dubai, which are priced at $48-49 per barrel.

Reaad article HERE
INC News, 16/10/2015 - via RT

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