December 12, 2001	Wednesday	Ramazan 26, 1422

LONDON, Dec 11: Saudi Arabia has trimmed its January crude allocations to most international oil majors, market sources said on Tuesday.

But several solely European refiners said their monthly allocation had been increased, which dealers said appeared to reflect the increased returns achievable in Europe versus other Saudi markets in the Far East and United States.

Saudi Aramco sent out preliminary allocations to its customers on Tuesday showing a reduction of between one per cent and just over five per cent across the oil majors, the sources said.

Total Saudi allocations for January were seen at roughly 30 per cent below standard full contract volumes down several percent from the average over the past few months.

But for European refiners, whose term volumes were down by a 30-35 per cent over the past few months, the January notice indicated they would be receiving a boost in crude.

One refiner saw a substantial increase in the allocations by over 20 per cent versus December, but others saw a rise of between two and eight percent, sources said.

“This was a big surprise for us, but when we checked to find out why such a small cut they said it was just a provisional allocations, subject to change depending on what happens with Opec and non-Opec,” said one European refinery source.

The sources also noted that Saudi Aramco typically shaves more from less profitable contracts, meaning lifters of the cheaper Arab Heavy crude may have seen a bigger cut than those who lift the pricey Arab Extra Light.—Reuters