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
Aramcos 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)...
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