Singapore: Oil fell in Asia on Friday after major producer Saudi Arabia slashed the price of the crude that it sells to Asia and the United States, analysts said. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for January delivery tumbled 31 cents to $66.50 a barrel in late-morning trade and Brent crude for January dropped 38 cents to $69.26.
Meanwhile, global oil and gas exploration projects worth more than $150 billion are likely to be put on hold next year as plunging oil prices render them uneconomic, data shows, potentially curbing supplies by the end of the decade.“Saudi Arabia has just cut the price of the oil it sells to Asia and the US and this is going to have a big effect on the market today and early next week,” said Daniel Ang, an investment analyst at Phillip Futures in Singapore.
Saudi Aramco, the kingdom’s state-owned oil company, said Thursday it had slashed its official selling price for Arab light grade oil bound for Asia in January by $1.90 a barrel from December’s level.It also reduced the price of Arab light grade oil bound for the US by 70 cents. “They’re definitely fighting for market share,” Ang said.
