Russian Diesel Reexported by Saudi Arabia Hits Records

Leading crude exporter Saudi Arabia is maximizing refining profits by importing unprecedented amounts of cheap Russian diesel and in turn shipping record volumes to Singapore, where the fuel can achieve higher margins, shiptracking data show.
Russia has had to divert the volumes it sold to Europe, previously its dominant product market, after the European Union banned oil product imports in February as part of its response to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, Xm.com reported.
That allowed state oil giant Saudi Aramco to increase its May import arrivals to Singapore to record levels and cash in on better arbitrage netbacks in the east than Europe, driven by tighter Asian supply during the maintenance season, traders and analysts said.
"Diesel supply in Singapore is relatively tight due to regional refinery maintenance, while Middle East supplies are rising, which may create spot arbitrage opportunities for traders to move the cargoes [to Singapore]," Vortexa's head of APAC analysis, Serena Huang, said.
Saudi Arabia will import up to 500,000 tons (3.7 million barrels) or more of Russian diesel in May, with most of it arriving at Ras Tanura, where one of Saudi Aramco's refineries is located, two trading sources, Kpler and Refinitiv showed.