Research

Forecasts and market analysis based on price assessments from Fastmarkets MB and Fastmarkets AMM

Change font size:   

January 2020 | Seamless Steel Tube & Pipe


Middle Eastern prices flat: Middle East and North Africa Market Analysis


Historically, Aramco had issued Purchase Order guidelines or contracts in the second quarter to give the local mills time to prepare rolling schedules.

Saudi mills awaiting orders
Aramco’s purchasing policy has been somewhat volatile in the last couple of years. For the KSA mills, that has not been helpful in terms of planning their baseload and managing working capital as they are reliant on the company for the bulk of their business. The fact that Aramco signed some long-term orders for welded OCTG last month has also fueled fears that they will lose out on some sales of the base API grades. Nevertheless, Aramco specifies a relatively high proportion of high collapse and sour service grades that is the sole preserve of the seamless mills although they have been willing to buy substantial offshore amounts over the last couple of years.

Historically, Aramco had issued Purchase Order guidelines or contracts in the second quarter to give the local mills time to prepare rolling schedules. With the IKTVA (In-Kingdom Total Value Added)...

ACCESS RESTRICTED

You must be a paid subscriber to view the full content.
Content over 60 days old can only be accessed by subscribers.
Call +44(0)20 7779 8000 with your credit card details or subscribe online.


SUBSCRIBE


Receive unlimited access to all current and archive content going back to 2008 including downloadable pricing data and forecasts. Plus download the latest issue as soon as it’s published.

Subscribe


Already subscribed?