Saudi Arabia has set the official selling price of May Arab Light crude oil to Asia at a record
$19.50 a barrel above the Oman/Dubai average, an increase of $17
from the previous month, a pricing document reviewed by Reuters
showed on Monday.
The sharp jump comes at a time when Middle East oil has
become the world’s most expensive as the U.S.-Israeli war on
Iran has limited shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a key
chokepoint for a fifth of the world’s oil supplies.
It remains unclear when a ceasefire will be reached or when
oil exports from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq,
Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain can resume through the Strait.
Last month, Middle East high-sulphur crude benchmark Dubai
rose to nearly $170 a barrel during trading in S&P Global Platts
Market on Close process.
OPEC+ agreed on Sunday to raise its oil output quotas by
206,000 barrels per day for May, a modest rise that will largely
exist on paper as its key members are unable to raise production
due to the war.