Now, this IS odd..Saudi Arabia is to import fuel from India…no, I have not had made a mistake while typing!
Saudi Aramco has secured a deal to buy 7.4 million barrels of gas oil from Reliance Industries for 2009, as strong demand for power and motor fuels forces it to import, traders said on Monday.
The deal takes the total the kingdom has bought on contract for 2009 to over 10 million barrels. The world’s top oil exporter typically avoids longer-term deals as it strives for fuel self-sufficiency. But cheap international prices and growing demand may have convinced Aramco to lock in supplies, trade sources said.
“Under normal circumstances, this would be very unusual, but at a time when prices are in a slump stocking-up makes good business sense,” a Middle-East based trader said.
One would say this is like taking coal to Newcastle, but we live in unusual circumstances, so anything can happen
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