Aramco will continue to offer only a limited freight subsidy for European and US crude buyers until further notice.
The compensation will be capped at 10 percent of the outright value of westbound cargoes loaded from the Mideast Gulf port of Ras Tanura.
Aramco usually calculates its subsidy based on independently-assessed freight expenses, but introduced a limit on 19 March for April-loading exports, citing higher shipping rates.
Aramco and Iraq's Somo compensate their US and European customers that buy in the Mideast Gulf, either at Ras Tanura or the Basrah Oil Terminal, to offset the higher freight costs for longer journeys and the cost of traversing the Suez canal. This also helps maintain a diversified client base beyond their traditional markets in Asia-Pacific.
