Saudi Arabia Raises Arab Light Crude Prices for Asia for 3rd Month

A view shows branded oil tanks at the Saudi Aramco oil facility in Saudi Arabia (File photo: Reuters)
A view shows branded oil tanks at the Saudi Aramco oil facility in Saudi Arabia (File photo: Reuters)
TT

Saudi Arabia Raises Arab Light Crude Prices for Asia for 3rd Month

A view shows branded oil tanks at the Saudi Aramco oil facility in Saudi Arabia (File photo: Reuters)
A view shows branded oil tanks at the Saudi Aramco oil facility in Saudi Arabia (File photo: Reuters)

Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter, has raised the prices of its flagship crude for Asian buyers for the third straight month, informed sources said.

The official selling price (OSP) for May-loading Arab Light to Asia was raised by 30 cents a barrel from April to $2.80 a barrel over Oman/Dubai quotes, the sourced added, according to Reuters.

Saudi Arabia also raised the OSPs for Arab Medium and Arab Heavy, crude grades that contain more sulphur than Arab Light, by 30 cents and 50 cents in May respectively.

The size of the price increase on Arab Heavy follows a stronger demand for heavier crude in the region as new refineries designed to process heavy grade, such as PetroChina's Jieyang plant, are coming online.

Meanwhile, oil prices settled largely unchanged on Wednesday as the market weighed worsening economic prospects against expectations of US crude inventory declines and plans by OPEC+ producers to reduce output.

Brent crude futures settled up 5 cents, or 0.1%, at $84.99 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate crude ended 10 cents, or 0.1%, lower at $80.61 a barrel.

US crude inventories fell 3.7 million barrels last week, about 1.5 million barrels more than forecast, government data showed. Gasoline and distillate stocks also fell more than expected, drawing down by 4.1 million barrels and 3.6 million barrels, respectively.

"Maybe following the strong price rally this week, investors are a bit cautious on jumping on a strong report," said UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo.

Also, prices jumped on Monday after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies including Russia, collectively known as OPEC+, pledged voluntary production cuts.



GE Vernova Rolls Out First H-Class Gas Turbine in Saudi Arabia

In the presence of Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, Minister of Energy, GE Vernova Inc. announced the successful rollout of the first H-class gas turbine unit completed at the GE Saudi Advanced Turbines (GESAT) facility in Dammam. Image courtesy: GE Vernova
In the presence of Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, Minister of Energy, GE Vernova Inc. announced the successful rollout of the first H-class gas turbine unit completed at the GE Saudi Advanced Turbines (GESAT) facility in Dammam. Image courtesy: GE Vernova
TT

GE Vernova Rolls Out First H-Class Gas Turbine in Saudi Arabia

In the presence of Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, Minister of Energy, GE Vernova Inc. announced the successful rollout of the first H-class gas turbine unit completed at the GE Saudi Advanced Turbines (GESAT) facility in Dammam. Image courtesy: GE Vernova
In the presence of Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, Minister of Energy, GE Vernova Inc. announced the successful rollout of the first H-class gas turbine unit completed at the GE Saudi Advanced Turbines (GESAT) facility in Dammam. Image courtesy: GE Vernova

In the presence of Saudi Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, GE Vernova Inc. has announced the successful rollout of the first H-class gas turbine unit completed at the GE Saudi Advanced Turbines (GESAT) facility in Dammam in an official ceremony held at GESAT.

GESAT, a joint investment with Dussur, is the first facility in Saudi Arabia and the region to manufacture H-Class gas turbines and components.

The first locally completed H-Class unit is set to power the Jafurah Cogeneration Independent Steam and Power Plant (ISPP), which once operational is anticipated to be the most efficient power plant in Saudi Arabia.

By 2030, the entire Jafurah gas field is expected to produce up to 630,000 barrels of natural gas liquids and condensates, as well as over 420 million standard cubic feet (MMSCFD) of ethane per day.

The successful rollout of the locally completed gas turbine at GESAT is a significant milestone in the Kingdom’s energy sector and contributes to Saudi Arabia’s economic diversification and local skills development initiatives, in alignment with Saudi Vision 2030 goals.

The rollout underscores GE Vernova’s commitment to bringing cutting-edge technology products to support both the Kingdom’s energy needs and its sustainability goals.

President of GE Vernova in Saudi Arabia Hisham Al-Bahkali said: “We are incredibly proud of GESAT’s accomplishments in driving industrial localization within the Kingdom’s energy sector in support of Saudi Vision 2030.”

He added: “GESAT strengthens ‘Made in Saudi’ capabilities and, since 2018, has exported 200+ accessory modules for power plants generating more than 11 GW.”

Renowned for their high efficiency and performance, GE Vernova’s H-class gas turbines offer one of the most cost-effective conversions of natural gas to electricity in their class, and support flexible power generation needs across the Middle East.

“The high efficiency and hydrogen readiness of our H-class turbines can support the country’s energy transition, as the turbines can rapidly ramp up or down to support grid stability as more intermittent renewables are integrated into the energy system,” said Joseph Anis, president and CEO of GE Vernova’s Gas Power business in Europe, Middle East and Africa.

To further support the Kingdom’s economic diversification and export capabilities, GE Vernova also signed an MoU with Saudi EXIM that aims at enabling the export of goods and services of GE Vernova from Saudi Arabia through lending and insurance support from Saudi EXIM Bank.

Since inception, GESAT has been set up to deliver technology products for export from the Kingdom, and this MoU aims to further enable export projects. The signing was done by Eng. Saad Alkhalb, CEO of Saudi Exim Bank, and Hisham Al Bahkali, President of GE Vernova for Saudi Arabia.

GE Vernova spun-off from GE and began trading as an independent company on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on April 2, 2024. With approximately 55,000 wind turbines and 7,000 gas turbines, GE Vernova's technology helps generate about 25% of the world's electricity and has a meaningful role to play in the energy transition.