Gulf OPEC members Saudi Arabia and Kuwait are unlikely to follow Iraq in a major shift in the way it prices its oil in Asia and will monitor Baghdad’s attempts to squeeze more dollars from its reform, industry sources said. Last week, Iraq’s state-oil firm SOMO began consultations with traders on its plans to switch to the Dubai Mercantile Exchange (DME) for its Asian oil pricing from Platts’ quotes, which Baghdad and neighboring Middle Eastern producers Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Iran have used for decades. The move throws down the gauntlet on setting prices for more than 12 million barrels per day of Middle East crude in Asia, challenging the role of the world’s top exporter Saudi Arabia. Smaller producers have traditionally followed […]