Armco Trading Co (ATC), the trading arm of Saudi Aramco, has sold nearly 10 million barrels of crude oil it stored around Malaysia after a fire at the Pengerang Integrated Complex (PIC) forced the joint venture refinery with Petronas to remain shut, according to four traders. According to the sources, the buyers included North Asian refiners, oil majors, and European trading firms.
The sources noted that Pengerang refinery purchased crude two months ahead, so the unprocessed crude had to be stored in tanks and ships. ATC’s sales of crude from Malaysia came as price and spot demand improved thanks to tighter supplies after OPEC+ record 9.7 million bpd production cuts.
ATC has sold various crude grades, including Saudi Arab Extra Light, Abu Dhabi’s Murban, Nigeria’s Agbami, and Azeri Light. The sales for July loading were via ship-to-ship transfer at Malaysia’s Linggi port.
