Iran said to cut pricing for all October crude to Asia

ANTHONY DIPAOLA

DUBAI (Bloomberg) -- Iran cut pricing for all its oil grades for sale to Asia next month, according to two people with knowledge of the decision, trimming the premium on its main light crude over the comparable Saudi blend to the narrowest since the end of 2012.

National Iranian Oil Co. will sell the light blend at a premium of 25 cents/bbl more than the regional benchmarks, according to the people, who asked not to be identified since the information is not yet public. No one answered a call to NIOC’s public relations department in Tehran on Thursday, the first day of the country’s weekend.

Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest crude exporter and biggest member of OPEC, cut the premium on its main light oil grade to Asia by 30 cents/bbl to 10 cents/bbl more than the regional benchmark, it said on Sept. 4. Today’s pricing from NIOC puts Iran’s Light crude at a premium of 15 cents to the Arab Light blend from Saudi Arabia. That’s the lowest premium since it stood at 10 cents in December 2012, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Iran, formerly the second-largest producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, aims to regain market share from other regional sellers like Saudi Arabia once international sanctions over its nuclear program are lifted. The removal of sanctions would allow Iran to boost oil shipments. Middle Eastern producers are competing increasingly with cargoes from Latin America, North Africa and Russia for buyers in Asia.