Aramco's unit swaps oil for refined product to tap opportunity

Saudi Aramco Products Trading Company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Saudi Aramco, has started swapping crude oil for refined products in other countries, as part of the company's international growth strategy, Bloomberg reported.

Crude was supplied to refiners in the Mediterranean region in exchange for fuel, the company's CEO Ibrahim Al-Buainain, told Bloomberg.

“In the Mediterranean, there is plenty of spare refining capacity. That’s creating opportunities for trading,” he said, disclosing two such deals have been done previously.

The refined products have been sold in Europe, North Africa and the west coast of Saudi Arabia, Al Buainain said.

In May last year, the CEO said Aramco Trading handles about 1.5 million barrels a day of refined fuels and plans to increase it to more than 2 million barrels.