Saudi Aramco has signed a one-year crude supply contract with China National Offshore Oil Corp. for its upcoming Phase 2 Huizhou refining project, as Saudi Arabia steps up efforts to secure its share in its largest market, where its top supplier status was recently threatened. Under the contract that was signed earlier this year, the Saudi national oil company will supply one VLCC per month of Arab Medium crude oil to CNOOC for a year, starting from the second half of 2017, sources close to the two companies said Wednesday. CNOOC expects to start up the 200,000 b/d Phase 2 project in Huizhou, southern China, in May 2017. CNOOC may also consider raising the lifting volume of Saudi crude once the Phase 2 project is running, one source said. The initial volume translates to a total supply of 22 million-26 million barrels over 12 months, considering each VLCC can […]