Kuwait requested that some Asian refiners reduce oil imports under their annual deals as the OPEC producer has ambitions to start full-scale operations at its Al Zour refinery in the second half of this year, Reuters reported this week citing unnamed sources.
The impact of the country’s lower supply could tighten greater Middle East supplies to Asia, and therefore affect support prices, particularly from the world’s top crude importer China, which is expected to rebound this year.