Oil prices rose above 94 USD per barrel in 2023, driven by reduced production in Russia and Saudi Arabia, alongside increased Chinese demand.
The price of oil, following a reduction in production by Russia and Saudi Arabia and an increase in demand from China, surpassed 94 USD per barrel for the first time in 2023 and is on its way to reaching 100 USD per barrel.
The major oil producers, namely Saudi Arabia and Russia, have decided to make the global oil market more thirsty in order to support higher prices. Accordingly, Riyadh extended a production cut of 1.3 million barrels per day until the end of the year and accelerated the reduction of global reserves earlier this month. Moscow also announced its support for the efforts of OPEC Plus coalition members to push the global oil price to 100 USD, and, in this regard, it is reducing its daily oil exports by 300,000 barrels during the month of September.
On August 21, Singapore’s HSFO CST180 hit 519 USD, while bitumen was priced at 530 USD. In South Korea, bitumen dropped to 425 USD, while Bahrain’s bitumen price remained steady at 440 USD for another week. In Europe, bitumen prices stabilized in the range of 550 to 600 USD.
Bitumen Prices in the Middle East
India is expected to experience a significant price increase on October 1st after a 5.5 USD drop in the second half of September.
With recent changes in pricing formulas in Iran, there’s anticipation of a roughly 10 USD surge in the base price of vacuum bottom within the next three days. However, buyers should exercise caution when dealing with prices that deviate from the market range, considering the factors mentioned above.
