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MABUX ARA LNG Bunker Index
Port LNG$/mton MGO LS$/mton Date
ARA
1 665.00
+102.00
1 440.00
-10.00
Oct 19
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Port	LNG$/mton	MGO LS$/mton	Date
ARA	1 665.00	+102.00	1 440.00	-10.00	Oct 19

MABUX Global Bunker Index

380HSFO$/mton		VLS FO$/mton		MGO LS$/mton		Date
757.79	+2.40	891.12	+0.85	1 561.30	+4.51	Oct 26

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MABUX Market Differential Index (MDI)

Correlation between market bunker prices (MBP) and MABUX Digital Bunker Price Benchmark (DBP)

All Indexes in $/mton	380HSFO			VLS FO			MGO LS			Date
All Indexes in $/mton	MBP Index	DBP Index	MDI	MBP Index	DBP Index	MDI	MBP Index	DBP Index	MDI	Date
Rotterdam	695	795	-100	762	901	-139	1 440	1 649	-209	Oct 26
Singapore	890	854	+36	957	1 041	-84	1 347	1 642	-295	Oct 26
Fujairah	750	791	-41	979	990	-11	1 760	1 705	+55	Oct 26
Houston	602	740	-138	815	886	-71	1 418	1 578	-160	Oct 26

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Latest News
- 2026-10-26
  Oil drops from near six-month highs on hopes Iran war hostilities to ease
  Oil prices fell on Monday after surging last week to near six-month highs, amid hopes of easing hostilities between the United States and Iran, although persistent attacks on key producer Saudi Arabia kept investors wary. US West Texas Intermediate... Read more Oil prices fell on Monday after surging last week to near six-month highs, amid hopes of easing hostilities between the United States and Iran, although persistent attacks on key producer Saudi Arabia kept investors wary.
  
  US West Texas Intermediate crude futures were down $2.23, or 2.16%, at $101.04 per barrel by 0426 GMT. Brent crude futures were down $2.21, or 1.89%, at $114.51.
  
  On Friday, prices settled nearly $3 higher after Houthi attacks in Saudi Arabia stoked energy supply concerns. Brent finished the week up 6% and WTI ended 2.3% higher.
  
  On Sunday, Qatari mediators traveled to Tehran as part of an effort to de-escalate regional tensions in coordination with the United States, an official briefed on the situation said.
  
  "Concerns over renewed military hostilities in the Middle East, which drove much of last week’s crude rally, have eased this morning, but the reprieve may prove temporary," said Vandana Hari, founder of oil market analysis provider Vanda Insights.
  
  Hari said US President Donald Trump has not dispelled market expectations that strikes on Iran could still follow after the November 3 midterm elections.
  
  "We therefore expect volatility to remain elevated, with risks still skewed to the upside," she added.
  
  Despite the mediation talks, attacks continued over the weekend with the Iran-backed Houthis saying they struck an airport and oil facilities in Saudi Arabia on Saturday. Saudi Arabia said on Sunday it had intercepted more missiles and drones.
  
  The effects of the US-Israeli war on Iran that began on February 28 continue to reverberate as companies adjust to the disruptions of commercial shipping through the key Strait of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb Strait caused by the conflict.
  
  On Monday, the energy ministers from Saudi Arabia and Singapore said state-owned oil company Saudi Aramco will start storing crude oil in Singapore from the second half of 2027, to shore up the resilience of Aramco’s supply chain in the region.
  
  "While supply risks surrounding the Strait of Hormuz remain firmly entrenched, the current pullback appears more reflective of position adjustments and risk management rather than any meaningful improvement in the underlying supply situation," said Priyanka Sachdeva, head of market insight at Phillip Nova.
  
  The head of the International Energy Agency, Fatih Birol, reinforced the concerns about the supply situation, saying on Monday at an industry event in Singapore that he does not expect energy markets in 2027 to return to where they were before the Iran war. Source: Reuters/Investing.com
- 2026-10-26
  Record Tanker Rates Cripple U.S. Crude Oil Flows to Asia
  The Iran war has made oil tanker voyages so inefficient that vessel availability has crumbled and freight costs have soared to record-highs, all but erasing the incentive for shipping crude oil from the U.S. Gulf Coast to Asia. The cost of shipping... Read more The Iran war has made oil tanker voyages so inefficient that vessel availability has crumbled and freight costs have soared to record-highs, all but erasing the incentive for shipping crude oil from the U.S. Gulf Coast to Asia.
  
  The cost of shipping crude oil from the U.S. Gulf Coast to China soared to as high as $80 million earlier this month. That’s ten times the average tanker rates that had held for years before the Iran war.
  
  Freight rates have eased from the record highs seen in early October, but they were still about $60 million for a supertanker to carry oil from the U.S. to Asia this week. The cost is so high that Asian refiners aren’t ordering much crude from the U.S. for November delivery.
  
  So far this month, Asian refiner orders for U.S. crude have plunged by about 50% from September, to about 25 million barrels that would be delivered in November, anonymous traders familiar with the purchasing told Bloomberg.
  
  If orders remain so low for the rest of this monthly trading cycle, Asia could receive in November its lowest volumes of U.S. crude oil in seven years, according to vessel-tracking analysts.
  
  U.S. crude oil and petroleum exports surged to a record high in the early weeks of the Middle East war. But the conflict and attempts by Middle Eastern producers to move oil out of the Strait of Hormuz broke the global tanker market and added a shipping crisis on top of the oil supply and fuel crises.
  
  The Iran war has reshuffled trade routes and patterns and tied up more tankers in inefficient and lengthy voyages.
  
  The increased flows of oil from the Strait of Hormuz, mostly thanks to ship-to-ship (STS) transfers in the Gulf of Oman, are tying up supertankers for weeks waiting for the transfers outside the Strait, limiting the availability of very large crude carriers (VLCCs) for the other global key oil trade routes, such as the U.S. Gulf Coast to Asia.
  
  The Gulf of Oman shuttle fleet has expanded to about 80 VLCCs. However, the average round-voyage times have reached 23 days, more than double the optimal 9–10 days for a round trip from Basrah in Iraq to Sohar offshore Oman, according to Kpler.
  
  Moreover, record rates to ship crude out of the Persian Gulf and from the Gulf of Oman are luring tankers to the risky but very lucrative Middle East trade, leaving the market short on vessels elsewhere.
  
  Freight rates are now the main story on the market, Randy Hawkins, Vice President, International Crude Oil Supply and Trading at Valero Energy, said on the U.S. refiner’s earnings call this week.
  
  “The cost to move a VLCC from the Gulf Coast to Asia is now averaging around 30 to $35 per barrel. That compares with the 2025 average of around $5 a barrel,” Hawkins said.
  
  The freight cost surge is “causing severe dislocations in our global crude pricing as refiners seek to find barrels that are closer to home and sellers are forced to discount barrels to account for the freight cost.”
  
  Asian buyers are turning to more Middle East crude, but they are buying on a delivered basis to reduce costs.
  
  In Europe, refiners are opting for nearby volumes within the region, due to the spike in tanker rates.
  
  The higher demand for European and Middle Eastern crude is pushing up the premiums on some grades. The Dated Brent benchmark was at a record $20 per barrel premium to Brent last week. Norway’s medium sour crude Johan Sverdrup has hit a record $24 per barrel premium to Brent, according to Wood Mackenzie data.
  
  African and U.S. crudes, on the other hand, have seen premiums tumbling and discounts widening due to the high freight costs to ship these volumes on long voyages to Asia. West African crude prices have slumped to record-low discounts, with some grades down to minus $20 per barrel to offset the high shipping costs.
  
  In the U.S. market, the premium of WTI at the Midland East Houston (MEH) hub has slumped to $0.25 a barrel above WTI, from over $3 per barrel premium in early September, per estimates by Link Data Services cited by Bloomberg.
  
  The U.S. Gulf of Mexico’s medium-sour Mars crude, similar to many Middle Eastern grades, saw its premium tumble to $6 a barrel, down from $17.50 at the end of March. Source: Oilprice.com
- 2026-10-26
  MABUX: Global bunker market to shift into irregular changes on Oct. 26 amid Middle East supply disruption risks.
  The MABUX World Bunker Index — a composite benchmark reflecting daily prices for 380 HSFO, VLSFO, and MGO – recorded further gains on Oct. 23: 380 HSFO: USD/MT: 755.39 9 (+9.50) VLSFO: USD/MT: 890.27 (+10.59) MGO: USD/MT: 1 556.79 (+8.38) As of... Read more The MABUX World Bunker Index — a composite benchmark reflecting daily prices for 380 HSFO, VLSFO, and MGO – recorded further gains on Oct. 23:
  
  380 HSFO: USD/MT: 755.39 9 (+9.50)
  VLSFO: USD/MT: 890.27 (+10.59)
  MGO: USD/MT: 1 556.79 (+8.38)
  
  As of Oct. 23, the MABUX Market Differential Index (MDI), which monitors the spread between Market Bunker Prices (MBP) and the MABUX Digital Bunker Benchmark (DBP), recorded the following trends across the four major global bunkering hubs—Rotterdam, Singapore, Fujairah, and Houston:
  
  • HSFO segment: Singapore was the only overvalued hub, with its MDI premium narrowing by $29. The other three ports continued to be undervalued, with discounts widening by $20 in Rotterdam, $8 in Fujairah, and $9 in Houston. Houston's MDI discount again exceeded the $100 mark.
  
  • VLSFO segment: Fujairah was the sole overvalued hub, although its MDI premium narrowed by $35. The other three ports stayed in the undervalued zone. Discounts widened by $19 in Rotterdam, exceeding the $100 threshold, and by $17 in Singapore, while narrowing by $2 in Houston.
  
  • MGO LS segment: Fujairah continued to be the only overvalued hub, with its MDI premium widening by another $12. The other three ports were undervalued. Discounts narrowed by $5 in Rotterdam but widened by $9 in Singapore and $42 in Houston. MDI discounts in Rotterdam and Singapore held above $100, while Houston also crossed this threshold.
  
  MABUX expects the Global bunker market to shift into irregular changes on Oct. 26 amid Middle East supply disruption risks:
  380 HSFO: plus-minus 5-10 USD/MT, VLSFO: plus-minus 5-10 USD/MT, MGO LS: plus-minus 5–15 USD/MT.
  Source: MABUX
- 2026-10-26
  Fuel Oil Becomes Asia’s Next Cost Shock
  Singapore’s shipping-fuel market is adding another layer of cost to Asian trade. Disrupted supplies from the Middle East and Russia, resilient bunker demand and prohibitive freight rates have pushed high-sulphur fuel oil above the price of the crude used... Read more Singapore’s shipping-fuel market is adding another layer of cost to Asian trade. Disrupted supplies from the Middle East and Russia, resilient bunker demand and prohibitive freight rates have pushed high-sulphur fuel oil above the price of the crude used to produce it. Seasonal relief from Gulf producers and additional Chinese export allowances could ease the squeeze towards year-end, particularly for very-low-sulphur fuel oil. But with replacement cargoes expensive to transport and Russian supplies vulnerable to further disruption, a return to pre-war pricing relationships looks harder to achieve.
  
  For shippers, the sharpest move has been in high-sulphur fuel oil, or HSFO. Singapore’s November crack against Dubai crude soared above $10/bbl in mid-October, compared with a discount of around $5/bbl in February (i.e. the pre-war period). That represents a reversal of more than $15/bbl for a product normally worth less than its crude feedstock. It also means higher bunker costs reflect more than rising oil prices: fuel oil itself has become unusually expensive.
  
  The regional disproportion in the global fuel oil market is equally striking. The Singapore–Rotterdam HSFO swap spread was at a record $95/t on October 7 (equivalent to approximately $15/bbl), before it eased to $88/t. With the European HSFO crack lingering around -$10/bbl to Brent and the US Gulf Coast crack falling below -$20/bbl, Singapore’s geographical premium illustrates how heavily the shortage is concentrated in the Asian market.
  
  The supply losses are the main reason behind that premium. Middle Eastern shipments of HSFO and VLSFO to Singapore averaged around 100,000 b/d in 2025. They disappeared in April and May following disruption to Hormuz shipping, briefly recovered to 130,000 b/d in July, then retreated to around 40,000–50,000 b/d in recent months. Russia initially helped replace missing Gulf barrels. Its HSFO shipments to Singapore reached around 180,000 b/d in April, above the 100,000–150,000 b/d typical imports of 2025. By September, however, they had fallen to just 25,000 b/d as refinery disruptions due to Ukrainian drone attacks impacted residue exports. Losing much of that substitute supply has left Singapore exposed to simultaneous shortages from two major sources.
  
  The two main oil fuel markets – HSFO and VLSFO - have different supply networks. Russia and Middle Eastern producers, including Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Iran, are important sources of HSFO. Kuwait supplies both grades, with its Al-Zour refinery particularly significant for VLSFO supply, while Brazil and Nigeria provide alternative low-sulphur supplies from the Atlantic Basin. This gives VLSFO buyers more geographical diversification, although longer voyages make those alternatives costly.
  
  Despite disruptions in fuel oil supply, demand in Asia has proved more resilient. Singapore sold 4.7 million tonnes of bunker fuel in September, only 1% below a year earlier, compared with average declines of around 4% in July and August. Within that total, consumption is shifting towards HSFO: sales rose around 10% year-on-year to roughly 17.5 million tonnes in January–September. The expanding scrubber-equipped fleet (allowing using sulphur-heavy HSFO instead of “cleaner” VLSFO) helps explain why weaker VLSFO requirements need not signal weaker overall shipping demand.
  
  Longer voyages reinforce the pressure. Replacing Gulf cargoes with supplies from the US Gulf Coast or West Africa increases sailing distances and fuel consumption. Avoidance of insecure bunkering locations can also redirect purchases towards Singapore. The resulting feedback is costly: disrupted trade requires more shipping, while the fuel needed to sustain those longer journeys becomes harder to source.
  
  China adds another layer of complexity to fuel oil markets. Its HSFO imports reached 3.3 million barrels in October so far, recovering from a total of just 300,000 barrels in June, although still below March’s 9.4 million barrels. Much of this demand is driven by Shandong’s independent refiners, which use suitable fuel oils (including but not limited to Russia’s M100 grade) as alternative feedstocks when crude import access is constrained. That spurt of autumn demand should nevertheless decrease into November-December given the recent HSFO price trend. Higher HSFO premiums erode the advantage of processing fuel oil, particularly after taxes, freight and conversion costs are included. Chinese buying behaviour will therefore limit the rising demand trend by weakening as prices rise. But it doesn’t mean that purchases will disappear altogether: individual refiners’ crude access quotas and product margins will still determine their economics.
  
  Normally, Singapore’s premium would attract more Western supply, but freight is obstructing that adjustment. As the Mediterranean–East Asia freight rate stands at $230/t for a 135,000-tonne cargo, transport alone costs approximately $36/bbl for HSFO or $34/bbl for VLSFO. Exactly a year ago, the same voyage would have cost $41/t, with the corresponding per-barrel freight costs coming in at just $6.5/bbl and $6.1/bbl (the difference in rates reflects fuel density: a tonne of lighter VLSFO contains slightly more barrels).
  
  Those freight costs disincentivize the arbitrage created by weaker European cracks. Singapore’s estimated October VLSFO arrivals from Western markets are showing flows of 1.5 million–1.6 million tonnes, down from 1.6 million–1.8 million in September, as expensive shipping undermined arbitrage economics. Thus,lower prices at the loading port offer limited relief when transportation absorbs the discount.
  
  However, there have been some recent signs of relief for the Asian fuel market. The Singapore M1-M2 time spread for VLSFO narrowed from around $38/t in early October to $32/t by October 23. China’s latest 1.07-million-tonne allocation of VLSFO export quotas also increases the scope for domestic production to serve regional bunkering demand, reducing potential buying interest in the wider Northeast Asian region. The same easing appeared to have happened with HSFO – the M1-M2 spread narrowed from a peak of $59/t to $56/t. The primary reason behind this lies in Saudi Aramco issuing tenders for over 700,000 tonnes of HSFO for November exports, to be loaded from Ras Tanura and Jubail. Whilst the Asian markets initially saw this news with relief, there is a genuine risk of these cargoes being trapped inside should the security situation around the Strait of Hormuz deteriorate after the US mid-term elections are over.
  
  Cooler Gulf temperatures in the winter should simultaneously ease demand for fuel oil used in power generation, freeing up more supply for bunkering (Saudi Arabia and Kuwait famously use their fuel oil, along with crude, for electricity generation). That said, should high freight rates persist, incremental fuel oil cargoes from Kuwait’s Al-Zour refinery could first ease shortages in Fujairah before they have any tangible impact on markets farther east. But in the now, Asian fuel oil supply remain tight: Singapore VLSFO delivery lead times were reportedly 12–15 days mid-October. Planned refinery maintenance and further disruptions to Russian supplies could slow replenishment of imports despite weaker seasonal demand.
  
  Any easing in Asia’s fuel oil tightness is therefore likely to be uneven. VLSFO supply has clearer prospects for growth, while HSFO remains more vulnerable to Russian supply losses amidst stable demand from scrubber-equipped ships transporting oil to the region over long distances. Even if fuel oil cracks weaken over the upcoming weeks, the prices themselves may not fall much while crude remains expensive. Lasting relief in Singapore will require more fuel and reliable and cheaper shipping, and for this to happen, seasonal changes alone will not be enough. Source: Oilprice.com
- 2026-10-26
  U.S. Dips Into Strategic Oil Reserve Again Amid Supply Disruptions
  The United States is dipping into its Strategic Petroleum Reserve again, this time to keep crude flowing to a Louisiana refinery while oil prices climb above $117 per barrel. The reserve, meanwhile, is already at its lowest level since 1982. The Department... Read more The United States is dipping into its Strategic Petroleum Reserve again, this time to keep crude flowing to a Louisiana refinery while oil prices climb above $117 per barrel. The reserve, meanwhile, is already at its lowest level since 1982.
  
  The Department of Energy on Friday authorized an emergency exchange of up to 400,000 barrels to Phillips 66's Lake Charles refinery, citing a temporary disruption to crude deliveries.
  
  The oil will come from the reserve's West Hackberry site in Louisiana and is available for immediate delivery.
  
  Lake Charles can process about 264,000 barrels per day, meaning the authorized volume amounts to roughly a day and a half of the refinery's processing capacity.
  
  DOE did not specify what caused the delivery disruption. Phillips 66 confirmed it would receive the crude but declined to discuss refinery operations or commercial activity. A company spokesperson said it did not anticipate any operational impacts.
  
  The government calls this an exchange, not a sale. Phillips 66 must return the borrowed barrels along with additional crude as a premium.
  
  This isn't Washington's first trip into the SPR this month. On October 10, DOE authorized up to 4 million barrels in emergency exchanges for ExxonMobil and BP following weather-related supply disruptions.
  
  The reserve has already been substantially depleted by withdrawals under President Donald Trump during the Iran war and former President Joe Biden following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
  
  Current SPR levels are at 282.7 million barrels, according to the DOE—a level which is at what some analysts think is the operational minimum.
  
  The latest exchange comes as oil prices continue climbing. Brent crude was trading at $117.04 per barrel Friday, up 3.42%, while West Texas Intermediate rose 4.07% to $103.52.
  
  The 400,000-barrel authorization addresses a localized refinery supply disruption rather than the broader global oil shortage. But with Middle Eastern supply routes still constrained and crude prices above $100, keeping refineries supplied has become an increasingly expensive proposition. Source: Oilprice.com
- 2026-10-26
  6 Million Barrels in Two Minutes Draws CFTC Scrutiny
  Oil traders sold futures equivalent to at least 6 million barrels of crude in just two minutes on March 23, shortly before President Donald Trump backed away from threats to strike Iranian power plants. Now, the federal regulator overseeing those trades... Read more Oil traders sold futures equivalent to at least 6 million barrels of crude in just two minutes on March 23, shortly before President Donald Trump backed away from threats to strike Iranian power plants. Now, the federal regulator overseeing those trades says it has been looking into the activity.
  
  Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Michael Selig said Friday that the agency's enforcement division has been examining oil trading during the Iran war, including the unusual surge preceding Trump's announcement.
  
  "Our enforcement division has been looking at all these trades," Selig told Bloomberg Television. "We take this stuff very seriously."
  
  The March 23 selling involved Brent and West Texas Intermediate futures. Trading volume during the two-minute window was more than 8.5 times the volume recorded during the same period over the preceding week, according to Bloomberg.
  
  The timing has raised questions about whether some traders had advance knowledge of Trump's plans.
  
  Oil markets have been particularly sensitive to presidential announcements since the Iran war began in February, with threats of military strikes and subsequent reversals capable of triggering sharp price swings.
  
  The March 23 trades weren't the only unusual activity. Bloomberg previously reported several spikes in oil trading volumes ahead of major Trump announcements this spring, raising concerns about the possible use of nonpublic information.
  
  Selig did not identify any traders involved or disclose whether investigators had uncovered evidence of wrongdoing.
  
  "We are on top of this and, rest assured, people can have confidence in the markets as long as I'm in the seat," Selig said.
  
  The CFTC chairman also addressed oversight of prediction markets, which the agency is monitoring for possible manipulation ahead of November's midterm elections. Selig expressed disappointment that Congress had failed to pass the Clarity Act, legislation addressing cryptocurrency regulation.
  
  The CFTC has yet to announce any enforcement findings. Source: Oilprice.com
- 2026-10-26
  Middle East Physical Crude Slides While Brent Hits Five-Month High
  In contrast with the international benchmark futures prices, the prices of physical crudes from the Middle East have softened this week, as oil continues to flow out of the Persian Gulf in ship-to-ship transfers offshore Oman and producers offer competitive... Read more In contrast with the international benchmark futures prices, the prices of physical crudes from the Middle East have softened this week, as oil continues to flow out of the Persian Gulf in ship-to-ship transfers offshore Oman and producers offer competitive prices to Asian buyers.
  
  Some crude grades from Iraq and Oman have sunk into deep discounts to the physical Dubai benchmark. Iraq’s Basrah Medium, for example, was recently sold at a discount of $10 per barrel to the Dubai benchmark, compared to near parity to Dubai crude a month ago, traders told Bloomberg on Friday.
  
  Robust crude oil flows out of the Middle East in recent weeks have started to pressure the key metric of strength for physical supply out of the region. The premium of Oman crude over Dubai, the measure of Middle East’s market strength, slumped this week to the lowest level since the end of July.
  
  The Oman-Dubai crude differential had soared to as high as $65 per barrel in March when the Strait of Hormuz was at a virtual closure and no crude cargoes were moving out of the Strait. The premium of Oman crude later slipped into a discount in the three weeks in the middle of June and early July, during which the U.S. and Iran were looking to negotiate a deal.
  
  The differential blew out again in August and especially in September, when hostilities resumed.
  
  But as the Middle Eastern producers accelerated shuttle-shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and ship-to-ship transfers in the Gulf of Oman, flows have recovered in recent weeks.
  
  The higher availability is depressing the prices of physical crudes from the Middle East in a move that’s opposite to the Brent Crude futures, which jumped to a five-month high of $114 per barrel this week.
  
  The futures market is disconnected from the fundamentals and physical markets as the paper market fears an escalation and renewed supply disruption, while the physical market reflects rising volumes transiting Hormuz. Source: Oilprice.com
- 2026-10-26
  Oil India Strikes Natural Gas in Shallow Offshore Basin
  State explorer Oil India Limited (OIL) has found natural gas in a previously unexplored formation in the shallow Krishna-Godavari Basin, the Indian company said on Friday. OIL has made the discovery at the Godavari-1 appraisal well in the Matsyapuri... Read more State explorer Oil India Limited (OIL) has found natural gas in a previously unexplored formation in the shallow Krishna-Godavari Basin, the Indian company said on Friday.
  
  OIL has made the discovery at the Godavari-1 appraisal well in the Matsyapuri formation in the Krishna-Godavari Basin off India’s east coast, recording a peak test flow of 200,000 standard cubic meters per day (SCMD). The company, however, did not reveal an estimate of the potential reserves it had encountered.
  
  OIL is now preparing to test the next zone in the basin for potential further drilling.
  
  India looks to boost domestic oil and gas exploration as the Strait of Hormuz crisis crippled supply and hiked prices for oil and gas for the country, which is the world’s third-largest crude oil importer. The renewed rally in crude oil and LNG prices and the higher freight costs in September started pressuring, again, the marketing margins of India’s oil and gas sector, which has to contend with the fallout of the Iran war on global oil and LNG trade flows.
  
  A senior official at OIL last month said that India needs to boost domestic oil and gas exploration to enhance its energy security amid supply disruptions that drive energy prices higher.
  
  “Disruptions to global supply chains and major energy corridors can have an immediate impact on energy flows, prices and economies worldwide,” OIL’s Director of Finance, Abhijit Majumder, said at an energy industry event in India, as carried by local media.
  
  The Strait of Hormuz crisis is one example of how geopolitical instability in one corner of the world could threaten energy security in all other regions, the executive said.
  
  India’s government has an ambitious plan to boost exploration, following three consecutive years in which domestic crude oil production has declined.
  
  This year, the federal government launched the so-called National Offshore Exploration Scheme, with $8.8 billion in government support through FY 2030–31. The scheme is India’s most ambitious offshore exploration mission to date. Source: Oilprice.com
- 2026-10-26
  U.S. Diesel at $6.30 a Gallon as First Russian Cargo Sets Sail for New York
  The first tanker shipping diesel out of Russia to the U.S. departed from the Russian Baltic Sea port of Primorsk early on Friday local time and is en route to New York where it is expected to arrive on November 7, shipping data show. The medium-sized... Read more The first tanker shipping diesel out of Russia to the U.S. departed from the Russian Baltic Sea port of Primorsk early on Friday local time and is en route to New York where it is expected to arrive on November 7, shipping data show.
  
  The medium-sized oil tanker Agioi Fanendes, flying the flag of Malta, loaded about 40,000 metric tons, or about 300,000 barrels, of ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD) on Thursday, after U.S. President Donald Trump earlier this month announced a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
  
  The deal was one of President Trump’s attempts to lower the soaring diesel prices in the United States ahead of the mid-term elections on November 3.
  
  The first Russian shipment will not arrive ahead of the elections.
  
  But even if it did, the volumes are so low that they can barely budge the tight global diesel market, analysts say.
  
  Announcing the Russian diesel deal on October 9, President Trump said that Russia would export more than 300,000 tons of diesel immediately, 500,000 tons in November, and 1 million tons “immediately thereafter”.
  
  The Russian government partially lifted its own diesel export ban the next day, effective October 10, citing the Trump-Putin agreement and allowing 500,000 tons onto the world market in a first stage, Kommersant reported.
  
  Other diesel cargoes loaded at Primorsk last week, but their final destinations are not clear, according to LSEG shipping data cited by Reuters.
  
  Separate vessel-tracking data showed earlier this week that at least two tankers carrying Russian diesel have signaled destinations in Turkey and Brazil in recent days. These two countries have been key buyers of Russian diesel in recent years after the EU banned all Russian oil product imports in early 2023 in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
  
  Meanwhile, U.S. diesel prices are rising again as crude oil prices jump amid the new escalation in the Middle East. The average U.S. diesel price was $6.3172 per gallon on October 23, up from $6.3090 on October 22, and way above the $3.6315 per gallon on this day last year. Source: Oilprice.com
- 2026-10-26
  U.S. Partner in Venezuela Oil Deal Looks to Hike Crude Production
  The privately held company that’s partnering with the U.S. Administration to boost oil production in Venezuela has raised output by about 20,000 barrels per day (bpd) since August and plans to soon add more rigs to further hike production. North American... Read more The privately held company that’s partnering with the U.S. Administration to boost oil production in Venezuela has raised output by about 20,000 barrels per day (bpd) since August and plans to soon add more rigs to further hike production.
  
  North American Blue Energy Partners (NABEP), announced by the White House in August as one of the U.S. Administration’s partners in “the biggest oil deal in world history”, will soon activate three rigs in the fields it now operates, doubling the number of active rigs in its projects, a source with knowledge of NABEP’s operations told Bloomberg on Friday.
  
  Currently, NABEP has three active drilling rigs in the Junin area in the huge Orinoco Oil Belt in Venezuela. Soon the number of rigs will double, including one rig that has just arrived in Venezuela, according to Bloomberg’s source.
  
  NABEP has a 25-year plan to boost oil production in Venezuela, which envisages bringing a total of 60 rigs in Venezuela, plus 70 pieces of heavy equipment for construction, the source added. NABEP plans to eventually hike its production in Venezuela tenfold.
  
  As of the middle of October, the company’s output was about 223,500 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd), per the source. The production rate is some 20,000 boepd higher compared to the August levels.
  
  The closely-held company hasn’t released many details about how it is financing the operations.
  
  In “the biggest oil deal in world history”, as much as $100 billion in investment could be involved in new oil infrastructure after the interim Venezuelan authorities granted NABEP 100-year concessions for 17 oilfields with proven reserves of approximately 65 billion barrels.
  
  NABEP, led by Venezuela-born businessman Alejandro Betancourt, says it is looking “to rapidly expand its operations in Lake Maracaibo and the Orinoco Belt with the near-term goal of increasing production to more than 1 million barrels of oil per day.”
  
  “NABEP’s $100 billion figure represents a long-term funding requirement, not committed near-term capital, and the company has not disclosed a detailed financing structure,” intelligence firm Rystad Energy said in September. Source: Oilprice.com

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