New assessments bring transparency to Abu Dhabi crude trading outside the strait of Hormuz
SINGAPORE, Aug. 12, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Global energy and commodity price reporting agency Argus has launched the first assessed prices for Abu Dhabi offshore crude exports loading on a ship-to-ship (STS) Gulf of Oman basis. The closure of the strait of Hormuz has disrupted loadings from ports within the region, forcing Mideast Gulf producers to shift their spot market trading away from traditional routes.
The new daily assessments cover Upper Zakum, Das and Umm Lulu crude cargoes transferred STS in the Gulf of Oman. The prices reflect crude delivered from terminals inside the Mideast Gulf and transferred to tankers outside the strait of Hormuz, where trading activity has become increasingly concentrated.
Abu Dhabi crudes primarily traded on a fob Mideast Gulf basis before the outbreak of the US-Iran conflict at the end of February, with buyers taking cargoes directly from their loading ports.
The new assessments complement existing Argus assessments for Murban crude loading at Fujairah in the UAE and Oman crude loading at Mina al-Fahal, giving market participants additional pricing tools for crude exports from the Middle East.
Argus Media chairman and chief executive Adrian Binks said: “Our newly launched Mideast Gulf STS assessments are a response to the uncertainty caused by the on-off closure of the strait of Hormuz. Trading liquidity for Abu Dhabi offshore crude exports is migrating, and the market needs transparent prices which reflect what is going on.”
The new prices are published daily in the Argus Crude service.
Argus contact information
London: Seana Lanigan
+44 20 7780 4200
Email Seana
Houston: Elizabeth Frye
+1 713 968 0000
Email Elizabeth
Singapore: Tomoko Hashimoto
+65 6496 9960
Email Tomoko
About Argus Media
Argus is the leading independent provider of market intelligence to the global energy and commodity markets. We offer essential price assessments, news, analytics, consulting services, data science tools and industry conferences to illuminate complex and opaque commodity markets.
Headquartered in London with over 1,500 staff, Argus is an independent media organisation with 32 offices in the world’s principal commodity trading hubs.
Companies, trading firms and governments in 160 countries around the world trust Argus data to make decisions, analyse situations, manage risk, facilitate trading and for long-term planning. Argus prices are used as trusted benchmarks around the world for pricing transportation, commodities and energy.
Founded in 1970, Argus remains a privately held UK-registered company owned by employee shareholders and global growth equity firm General Atlantic.
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SOURCE Argus Media
