Saudi Arabia: First crude shipment to Belarus

While Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Aramco) has been cutting back on its sales to Asian and other markets, in line with its Opec+ commitments (see box), an 87,000t Arab Light crude cargo was reserved for the Belarusian oil refinery OAO Naftan. The mid-May delivery of a first-ever purchase from Riyadh by Belarus will not have gone unnoticed by the reactionary former Soviet state’s closest ally, Russia.