Kuwait Keeps Wide Discount To Saudi Oil In Market Share Battle

Kuwait has maintained a wide discount between the crude it sells to Asia against a comparable Saudi Arabian grade for November, amid increasing signs that Gulf producers are engaged in a price war to compete for market share.

Global oil price Brent plummeted nearly five per cent on Tuesday to their lowest since 2010, as key OPEC members showed no sign of cutting back production to support the market.

Kuwaiti crude for November was priced at a discount of 50 cents per barrel to Saudi Arab Medium, unchanged from a month ago and the widest in 10 years.

The official selling price (OSP) for Kuwaiti crude oil sales to Asian buyers for November was set at $3.05 a barrel below the average of Oman/Dubai quotes, down $0.70 from the previous month, a trade source said on Wednesday.

Just a day earlier, Qatar cut the September price differential for its Marine crude to Dubai by the widest margin since January 2008.

Kuwait was the last among Middle East producers to cut monthly prices for crude sales to Asia amid increasing competition from oil produced in Africa, Europe and the Americas.

World’s top oil exporter Saudi Arabia started the month with deep cuts of about $1 a barrel, followed by the United Arab Emirates, Iraq and Iran.