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One for the record book!

Massive Saudi allocations to China as oil flat price and OSPs are super cheap!
Published: February 12, 2026
Written by:
Will Cunliffe

Will Cunliffe

Research Analyst, The Officials
Will Cunliffe
,
Edward Hayden-Briffett

Edward Hayden-Briffett

Research Analyst, The Officials
Edward Hayden-Briffett
and
Spyridon Kokas

Spyridon Kokas

Research Analyst, The Officials
Spyridon Kokas
Reviewed by:
Jorge Montepeque

Jorge Montepeque

Head of Benchmarking, Flux
Jorge Montepeque
Edition: Asia Edition
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Massive Saudi allocations to China as oil flat price and OSPs are super cheap!

Massive allocations! 61 mil bbl allocated by the Saudis to China for March loading, helped by the lowest Arab Light OSP since December 2020. 50% more crude than March 2025 and up 12 mil bbl from February loadings is a massive y/y and m/m jump. Chinese are thirsty and prices are low, so what the heck! China is ravenous and filling up that SPR isn’t going to fill itself, as sources suggest its tanks have a lot of space, with current stocks said to be just 60-70% of capacity. Nobody knows the exact numbers, but the fact is China is building additional storage north of 150 mil bbls for 2026 and will continue buying! The Chinese buying has countered the volume war going on between the UAE and Saudi Arabia in particular. So the market does not sink but it also does not go up. Goldilocks!

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