據世界石油網站4月18日消息 據一位熟悉美國煉油企業分配情況的沙特行業官員透露，沙特將于4月份向美國每天出售約60萬桶原油，創下一年來的最高水平。

在沙特本月將日產量提高至創紀錄的1230萬桶之際，與煉油商達成了上述協議，而此時美國需求正因為減緩疫情而實施的封鎖而大幅下降。

今年5月，國營的沙特石油公司表示，作為與俄羅斯和其他主要產油國達成的歐佩克+協議的一部分，該公司將把日產量削減至850萬桶。同一位官員表示，該公司5月份對美國煉油企業的撥款尚未完成，但已經降低了折扣幅度，這可能會引發一些煉油企業減少訂單。

5月份交付美國的阿拉伯輕質原油價格比Argus含硫原油指數低75美分/桶，而4月份為3.75美元。

分配通常密切追蹤每月的實際發貨量，盡管有時有些油輪會在不同月份裝貨，因為運力影響可能會有一定時期的減少。

據彭博社編制的油輪跟蹤數據顯示，4月份的前幾天，阿美石油似乎已經提前裝運了部分貨物到美國。在本月的前7天，阿美石油公司裝載了7艘超大型原油運輸船，每艘能運載200萬桶原油，并向美國發出了最終目的地的信號。然而，從那時起，阿美石油公司只裝載了兩艘油輪。

隨著美國公布近乎實時的定制數據信息，交易員可以知道石油何時到達，沙特原油流入美國的情況受到密切關注。美國還每周公布石油庫存數據，更多沙特原油流入美國可能有助于增加庫存。

根據美國能源情報署提供的最新月度數據，今年1月，美國每天從沙特阿拉伯進口40.1萬桶原油。

吳恒磊 編譯自 世界石油

原文如下：

Saudis to sell 600,000 bbl of oil a day to the U.S. in April

Saudi Arabia is set to sell about 600,000 barrels a day of crude to the U.S. in April, the highest volume in a year, according to a Saudi industry official familiar with allocations to American refiners.

The shipments, agreed with refiners as Saudi Arabia ramped up production to a record 12.3 million barrels a day this month, come at a moment when U.S. demand is sharply down due to lockdowns to slow the Covid-19 pandemic.

For May, state-run Saudi Arabian Oil Co. has said it will cut output to 8.5 million barrels a day as part of the OPEC+ agreement with Russia and other major producers. Its May allocations for U.S. refiners haven’t yet been completed, but it has already reduced the size of the discounts it’s offering, which is likely to trigger some refiners to reduce their orders, the same official said.

Arab Light crude for May deliveries to the U.S. was priced at a discount of 75 cents per barrel to the Argus Sour Crude Index, compared with $3.75 in April.

The allocations usually track actual monthly shipments closely, although occasionally some tankers are loaded in a different month as operations may slip a few days.

Aramco appears to have front-loaded some of its shipments to the U.S. during the first days of April, according to tanker tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. In the first seven days of the month, Aramco loaded 7 very large crude-carriers that are capable of carrying two million barrels each and are signaling the U.S. as a final destination. Since then, however, Aramco has loaded only two more tankers.

The flows of Saudi crude into the U.S. are closely watched as America publishes near real-time custom data information that allows traders to know when the oil is arriving. The U.S. also publishes weekly data on oil inventories, and more Saudi crude into the U.S. may contribute to higher stockpiles.

The U.S. imported 401,000 barrels a day of crude from Saudi Arabia in January, according to the latest monthly data available from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.