Saudi Arabia informs Japan's largest refiner of a possible change of shipment: Nikkei

(Reuters) – The Saudi oil group Aramco has informed Japanese refiner JXTG Nippon Oil & Energy of a possible cargo change, raising concerns about the kingdom's ability to supply crude oil a week after the attacks on its refineries. announced the Nikkei Asian Review.

Aramco did not specify the reason for the change in oil content provided to Japan's largest refiner from light to heavy and medium from October, Nikkei said, citing JXTG officials.

JXTG officials suspect Aramco is taking longer than expected to repair its desulphurization plant, which is needed to produce light crude used in the production of gasoline and light diesel, the newspaper said.

At least three super oil tankers that loaded crude in Saudi Arabia this week for China and India have upgraded their crude qualities to heavy oil, while more buyers In Asia were asked to delay their shipments and to change ranks in September and October, Reuters reported, citing sources and data from Refinitiv and Kpler. [nL3N26B0WJ]

The 14 September attacks on the Abqaiq and Khurais factories, one of the largest in the kingdom, caused widespread fires and damage that halved the crude oil production of the world's leading oil exporter , closing 5.7 million barrels per day of production.

Saudi Aramco has emerged from "stronger than ever" attacks, chief executive Amin Nasser said Saturday to his employees.[nB2N24901C]

Yemen's Houthi group claimed responsibility for the attacks, but a US official said they came from southwestern Iran.

Aramco and JXTG did not immediately respond to requests for comments on the report.