Argus introduces Gulf of Oman ship-to-ship pricing for Abu Dhabi crude

The new benchmarks cover Upper Zakum, Das, and Umm Lulu crude cargoes. These assessments track oil moved from terminals within the Mideast Gulf to tankers stationed outside the strait, where trading activity has surged following the outbreak of US-Iran hostilities in late February. Before the conflict, Abu Dhabi exports were primarily traded on a fob basis directly from loading ports.

Argus chairman and chief executive Adrian Binks noted that the move addresses market uncertainty caused by the intermittent closure of the strait. The service aims to provide transparency as liquidity migrates to the Gulf of Oman, complementing existing assessments for Murban crude loading at Fujairah and Oman crude at Mina al-Fahal. Traders can now access these prices daily through the Argus Crude service.