Saudi Arabia has cut its supply levels of crude oil to customers in North Asia since March, according to news site Reuters.
Saudi Arabia has trimmed the volumes of oil it has exported to both Japan and South Korea, even as Saudi oil production hit a record high of over 10 million barrels per day.
For the past two months, the OPEC producer had informed some customers that they would receive full contracted volumes, only to trim supply later using a contractual term known as operational tolerance, the sources said.
Under oil contracts, the seller or the buyer can adjust loading volumes, depending on demand and shipping logistics, using operational tolerance which ranges from plus to minus 10 percent of the contracted Saudi volume.
State-run Saudi Aramco boosted supplies to Asia in January and February by allowing customers to lift up to 10 percent above contractual volumes to re-fill inventories and meet peak winter demand. Sharp price cuts for Saudi oil late last year also boosted demand.
