At least two Asian refiners have requested Saudi Aramco to change the pricing basis in their long-term crude contracts to ICE Brent from the Dubai benchmark, people familiar with the matter said.
Concerns over the Dubai benchmark have resurfaced after Middle Eastern price markers surged above Brent since August due to escalating tensions between the United States and Iran.
Middle Eastern producers and Asian refiners gather annually at APPEC conference in Singapore to discuss term contracts, which are typically finalised before year-end.
The refiners raised the request during discussions this week for 2027 supplies, the sources said, citing heightened volatility in the Middle East benchmark as the volume of tradeable crude has shrunk after several grades loaded inside the Strait of Hormuz were removed at the onset of the Iran war.
The same request to change benchmarks has also been made to other Middle Eastern producers, one of them said. Saudi Aramco declined to comment.
Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter, issues monthly official selling prices (OSP) at differentials to the average of Platts Dubai and GME Oman quotes for crude sold to term buyers.
It was unclear how Aramco and other producers would react to the renewed requests for a change in benchmarks.
They added that shipping disruptions and uncertainty surrounding conflicts in the Middle East have also clouded prospects for term supply next year, raising questions over how much contracted crude producers will ultimately be able to deliver.
Platts Dubai and Oman futures traded on the Gulf Mercantile Exchange stood at $119.40 and $119.30 a barrel, respectively, on Thursday, a multi-month high level, while Brent crude futures settled at $101.75 at Asia's market close.
Cash premiums for Dubai and Oman crude also jumped to multi-month highs of $26.91 and $26.81 a barrel, respectively, reflecting acute tightness in the physical market.
The Dubai and Oman benchmarks have experienced similar bouts of volatility before. In March, cash-market premiums surged after aggressive bidding by major trading houses drove benchmark-linked prices sharply higher.
(Reporting by Siyi Liu and Florence Tan in Singapore; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
