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MABUX ARA LNG Bunker Index
Port LNG$/mton MGO LS$/mton Date
ARA
1 139.00
+7.00
1 220.00
+20.00
Aug 10
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Port	LNG$/mton	MGO LS$/mton	Date
ARA	1 139.00	+7.00	1 220.00	+20.00	Aug 10

MABUX Global Bunker Index

380HSFO$/mton		VLS FO$/mton		MGO LS$/mton		Date
626.35	+1.97	785.17	+0.82	1 356.30	-0.58	Aug 17

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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	533	623	-90	653	697	-44	1 220	1 395	-175	Aug 17
Singapore	629	647	-18	820	788	+32	1 222	1 388	-166	Aug 17
Fujairah	613	596	+17	812	729	+83	1 355	1 451	-96	Aug 17
Houston	470	614	-144	690	711	-21	1 265	1 359	-94	Aug 17

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Latest News
- 2026-08-17
  Oil treads water as US-Iran peace talks stall, Hormuz shipping slows
  Oil prices barely moved in early trade on Monday as tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz slowed over the weekend with no peace deal in sight between the United States and Iran to end the conflict in the Middle East. Brent crude futures climbed... Read more Oil prices barely moved in early trade on Monday as tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz slowed over the weekend with no peace deal in sight between the United States and Iran to end the conflict in the Middle East.
  
  Brent crude futures climbed 20 cents, or 0.2%, to $88.72 by 2350 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures slipped 5 cents to $82.35 a barrel.
  
  Both contracts gained more than 5% last week following attacks on tankers operated by Abu Dhabi National Oil Company in the Hormuz strait and on a Saudi Aramco refinery.
  
  Over the weekend, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said Iran had not decided to resume talks with the U.S. while U.S. President Donald Trump urged Americans to accept slightly higher gasoline prices while the conflict continues.
  
  "The status quo remains. Both sides remain firmly dug in and the market is left weighing the risk of tighter supply against the comfort of workarounds and other informal channels," IG market analyst Tony Sycamore said in a note.
  
  Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz slowed over the weekend, data showed on Monday, following attacks on tankers. Five commodity vessels transited the strait on Saturday, with none registered for Sunday, shiptracking data from Kpler showed, versus 31 in the prior weekend.
  
  The United Arab Emirates accused Iran of attacking a third vessel operated by ADNOC that was transiting the strait on Friday, the Emirati state news agency WAM reported, after blaming it for two other incidents involving ADNOC vessels in the strait on Thursday evening. Source: Reuters/Investing.com
- 2026-08-17
  Have Middle East Oil Flows Rebounded to 15 Million Bpd as U.S. Claims?
  U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright this week said that the oil exports from the Middle East have rebounded to 15 million barrels per day (bpd) and even topped the pre-war average of 20 million bpd on Sunday. Vessel-tracking services and commodity... Read more U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright this week said that the oil exports from the Middle East have rebounded to 15 million barrels per day (bpd) and even topped the pre-war average of 20 million bpd on Sunday.
  
  Vessel-tracking services and commodity analysts are baffled and struggling to reconcile these numbers with their observations of tanker loadings and traffic in the region.
  
  Ship-tracking data shows oil flows out of the Strait of Hormuz are, at best, half the volume cited by Secretary Wright.
  
  Of all oil exports out of the Middle East, various tanker-monitoring data show a gap of between 3 million bpd and 5 million bpd, as most vessel-tracking companies are estimating only about 9 million bpd leaving the region via all its export channels so far this month, per the data compiled by Reuters columnist Clyde Russell.
  
  In the middle of this week, the U.S. energy secretary posted on X that oil flows from the Middle East have normalized, with Sunday traffic alone above pre-conflict averages, in a claim that appears not to be backed by ship-tracking data.
  
  “It is not possible to reconcile the disparity between what we see and what he is quoting,” Matt Smith, director of commodity research at Kpler, told CNN, commenting on Wright’s claim.
  
  Kpler data showed earlier this week that vessel traffic at the Strait of Hormuz continues to decline as last week’s hopes of negotiations of a U.S.-Iran deal began to fade, yet again.
  
  Secretary Wright then doubled down on this claim, posting that “In coordination with the U.S. military, the U.S. Department of Energy maintains the best available data related to oil and oil products leaving the Arabian gulf.”
  
  He went on to add that “Many private businesses undercount the number of ships leaving the Strait of Hormuz due to ships moving covertly through the waterway.”
  
  The U.S. official did not reveal how “the best available data related to oil and oil products leaving the Arabian gulf” is being compiled and/or analyzed.
  
  The private businesses tracking the shipments estimate current oil flows out of the Strait of Hormuz at up to 5 million bpd at best, and at about 9 million bpd-10 million bpd for the entire Middle Eastern region.
  
  Even the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said this week in its monthly Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO) that traffic at Hormuz remains “severely constrained” and assumes this would be the case throughout August.
  
  At any rate, the next five to six weeks will show how accurate (or not) the U.S. claim is, as the exports now leaving the Middle East will begin appearing in import data in various countries, Reuters’ Russell notes.
  
  Of course, there is the possibility that vessel-tracking services could be underestimating the Middle East’s current export volumes, due to heightened dark-mode activity of tankers.
  
  But it is equally possible that the U.S. Administration is spinning a wishful thinking of one outcome of the war in Iran, as this week showed a new deadlock in the U.S.-Iran talks and the contrasting claims of control over Hormuz.
  
  Or simply the U.S. Administration could be trying to talk down oil prices again, with the midterm elections in November approaching but Americans still paying high gasoline prices.
  
  The national average price of gasoline remained above $4 per gallon this week.
  
  “While gasoline demand is down, crude oil prices are keeping pump prices higher than normal for this time of year,” AAA said on Thursday.
  
  “So far, this is the highest August on record when it comes to the national gasoline average.”
  
  This means that Americans have never paid so much for gasoline this late in the year.
  
  “Going back to 2008, the cheapest national average price of gasoline on this calendar day- Aug. 13- was $2.13/gal in 2016 and the most expensive is today, at $4.06/gal,” Patrick de Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, said on Thursday. Source: Oilprice.com
- 2026-08-17
  Europe’s Gas Storage Crunch Deepens Ahead of Heating Season
  With less than three full months left until the start of heating season in much of Europe, the issue of gas inventories is becoming increasingly pressing. Current inventory levels are at the lowest in 17 years, and supply available for purchase is tighter... Read more With less than three full months left until the start of heating season in much of Europe, the issue of gas inventories is becoming increasingly pressing. Current inventory levels are at the lowest in 17 years, and supply available for purchase is tighter than it was back in 2022. Yet Europe needs to start buying gas now—or risk shortages.
  
  The energy import dependence of most of Europe has been in the spotlight for the past four years. The sanction barrage against Russia led the European Union—and Germany specifically, as Russia’s biggest gas client—to switch from one dependence to another, leaning heavily on U.S. liquefied natural gas. Yet European gas buyers were also buying Qatari liquefied gas, and now most of that is gone, and nobody really knows when it is coming back.
  
  The LNG squeeze and the uncertainty about supply prospects have, of course, had a direct and rather painful effect on prices. Europeans are competing with Asian gas buyers for a limited volume of LNG—and that volume is about to become even more limited when the EU’s latest gas sanctions against Russia come into effect from January next year, banning all purchases of Russian liquefied gas, after this year EU purchases of Russian LNG hit an all-time high. Belgium, the seat of EU executive and legislative power, ironically sourced all of its gas from Russia last month.
  
  There is a lot of talk about new LNG export capacity coming on stream in the United States over the next year or two. This capacity, some industry observers argue, would lead to a major drop in LNG prices. However, even if this does pan out, it will not pan out soon enough for Europe. European countries need the gas now, before the first frost when demand for heating surges to its usual seasonal high, even with a mild winter. Besides, there is no guarantee the winter would be mild. Europe lucked out for two years in a row in 2022 and 2023, but then got a reminder that winter is normally cold—and it drives high gas consumption.
  
  What’s more, Europe’s summer demand for gas has been higher than usual because of higher seasonal temperatures, including a series of heatwaves across Western Europe. Summer is usually a trough demand season, which is when gas traders normally buy for storage. Yet this summer has been anything but usual, aggravating an already existing problem, as the European Union ended last winter season with much lower remaining gas in inventory than the five-year average.
  
  Gas trading companies in Europe are in a wait-and-see mode, cautious about spending potentially too much money on gas that may trade lower when the time comes to sell it to power generators. This is a risky sort of cautiousness because there is an arguably greater risk of gas prices moving even higher as winter draws nearer and the urgency of refilling those storage caverns becomes even more pressing.
  
  According to Bloomberg, governments could force gas traders to start buying, in order to make sure there is enough gas in storage come November 1, and prompt a bidding war with other gas importers, notably in Asia. Yet the bidding war is happening anyway, the only difference being the timing. If European governments order gas traders to start buying now, it will happen sooner. If they let the free market decide, letting gas traders wait until the last possible moment to start buying gas for storage, the war will happen later.
  
  What this means is that however one looks at it, Europe will be paying through the nose for its winter gas, again. This means further pressure on already troubled economies, with no end of the war in the Middle East in sight. In winter, gas consumption on the continent rises as much as twofold, as noted by Bloomberg. Prompt purchases of LNG from the U.S. and pipeline deliveries from Norway, Algeria, Azerbaijan, and Russia (via Turkey) serve to cover demand but storage remains essential nevertheless because these suppliers cannot cover 100% of European winter gas demand.
  
  Winter is coming, and natural gas prices are twice as high as they were before the United States and Israel first struck Iran on February 28, prompting retaliation that no one had believed Iran would resort to—closing the Strait of Hormuz. Six months later, the strait remains closed, with tanker traffic a trickle. Even if the hostilities end today, it will be a while before LNG flows out of the Persian Gulf normalize. The U.S. can ramp up exports even further from their already record levels, but that would come at a price. The problem for the European Union, if not all of Europe, is that it is already paying a lot for its electricity. Just how much higher prices the bloc's energy consumers can stomach remains a worrying question that will get its answer in a few months. Source: Oilprice.com
- 2026-08-17
  MABUX: Global bunker market to enter a phase of irregular price movements on Aug. 17 amid persistent uncertainty over supplies t
  The MABUX World Bunker Index — a composite benchmark reflecting daily prices for 380 HSFO, VLSFO, and MGO — resumed a moderate upward trend on Aug. 14: 380 HSFO: USD/MT: 624.38 (+11.38) VLSFO: USD/MT: 784.35 (+1.69) MGO: USD/MT: 1 356.88 (+9.21) As... Read more The MABUX World Bunker Index — a composite benchmark reflecting daily prices for 380 HSFO, VLSFO, and MGO — resumed a moderate upward trend on Aug. 14:
  
  380 HSFO: USD/MT: 624.38 (+11.38)
  VLSFO: USD/MT: 784.35 (+1.69)
  MGO: USD/MT: 1 356.88 (+9.21)
  
  As of Aug. 14, the MABUX Market Differential Index (MDI), which monitors the spread between Market Bunker Prices (MBP) and the MABUX Digital Bunker Benchmark (DBP), registered the following dynamics across the four major global bunkering hubs—Rotterdam, Singapore, Fujairah, and Houston:
  
  • HSFO segment: Fujairah remained the only overvalued port in this fuel category, with its premium widening by $11. The other three ports stayed undervalued, although discount margins narrowed by $10 in Rotterdam, $4 in Singapore and $3 in Houston. Houston’s MDI remained above the $100 mark.
  
  • VLSFO segment: Rotterdam and Houston continued to be undervalued. Rotterdam’s discount narrowed by $8, while Houston’s decreased by $3. Singapore’s MDI was unchanged, whereas Fujairah’s increased by $16. Houston’s MDI moved close to the 100% correlation level between MBP and DBP.
  
  • MGO LS segment: All four ports stayed undervalued. Discount margins widened by $16 in Rotterdam and $6 in Singapore, while narrowing by $9 in Fujairah and $6 in Houston. MDIs in Rotterdam, Singapore and Fujairah remained above the $100 mark, while Houston moved below this threshold.
  
  MABUX expects the global bunker market to show irregular price movements on Aug. 17, with uncertainty over supplies through the Strait of Hormuz remaining a key market driver: 380 HSFO: plus-minus 2-5 USD/MT, VLSFO: plus-minus 2-5 USD/MT, MGO LS: plus-minus 5–15 USD/MT.
  Source: MABUX
- 2026-08-17
  Mexico Is Betting on Biofuel to Tackle Its Seaweed Crisis
  Over the past 15 years, Mexico has faced a severe seaweed problem, with vast quantities of a brown seaweed known as sargassum washing up on beaches along the Caribbean coast and hitting the tourism industry hard. Researchers are yet to find an effective... Read more Over the past 15 years, Mexico has faced a severe seaweed problem, with vast quantities of a brown seaweed known as sargassum washing up on beaches along the Caribbean coast and hitting the tourism industry hard. Researchers are yet to find an effective way to prevent the seaweed from washing ashore or to effectively predict its movement. As the Mexican government attempts to manage the huge quantities of seaweed each year, researchers are exploring potential uses for the algae, such as biofuel or fertiliser.
  
  As much as 9,000 tons of seaweed is washing up on Mexico’s beaches every day along the Caribbean coast, a popular spot for tourists who contribute heavily to the region’s revenue. Governments across major destinations such as Cancun, Tulum, and Playa del Carmen are fighting to keep beaches clean by using industrial equipment, such as diggers, to clear the seaweed so visitors can continue to use the beaches and swim in the sea. However, this is a daily battle and annual expenditure on sargassum management stands at around $2 billion, roughly equivalent to 11 per cent of the local GDP.
  
  Sargassum smells like rotten eggs and releases methane as it decomposes. While it is not thought to significantly threaten public health, it can affect the health of vulnerable populations and workers who are regularly exposed to the seaweed. Meanwhile, tourists often avoid beaches where the seaweed washes up because of the smell, the inability to swim, and the weed’s visual impact. This has driven many visitors to explore alternative destinations that have not yet experienced sargassum problems, such as Mexico’s Pacific coast.
  
  In July, Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum announced a $115 million plan to combat surging sargassum in the Caribbean. The government plans to deploy two large ships to capture the seaweed before it reaches the coast. Mexico’s navy is also expected to install 30 miles of containment barriers to trap the sargassum at sea in the most critical areas, including Playa del Carmen, Cancún, Tulum, Puerto Morelos and Mahahual.
  
  Meanwhile, workers will continue to shovel up the seaweed that does make it to shore. “The effort so far has been titanic, but we have to do more to prevent sargassum from reaching the beaches,” Sheinbaum said.
  
  Mexican authorities and the private sector currently have the capacity to collect almost 2,200 metric tonnes of sargassum each day at sea and on beaches. The government intends to increase this capacity to around 4,000 tonnes by 2027. In addition, the government is partnering with Japan to tackle the problem. Japan will provide ocean-monitoring technology, specialised equipment including robotics and sensors, and financial cooperation as part of clean-up efforts.
  
  Sargassum has become a major problem in several regions, with parts of the Caribbean and South Florida also reporting large quantities of the seaweed on their shores. As part of the project between Mexico and Japan, researchers will explore the potential to convert the sargassum into commercially viable products, such as fertiliser, biofuels, building materials, and soap, which could help these regions regain access to their beaches.
  
  Mexico’s Environment Minister Alicia Barcena said that out of almost 200 sargassum-related projects, at least 11 had the potential for scaling up industrially and 39 were already making products, including fuel, fertilisers, laminates, and bioplastics to produce sandals.
  
  In July 2025, the Quintana Roo state government announced plans to develop a new facility to monitor and manage Mexico’s sargassum and eventually convert it to biofuel. A Dutch consortium will finance, construct, and operate the Sargassum Centre with the aim of developing new technologies for the biodigestion of sargassum and organic waste to produce biomethane. If successful, it could provide the blueprint for other regions dealing with sargassum to follow.
  
  The chemical composition of the sargassum found along Mexico’s Caribbean coast could also make it suitable for use as an agricultural input. A 2026 assessment by the Inter?American Development Bank (IDB) and the Mexican Institute for Sustainable Fisheries and Aquaculture Research studied the seaweed closely to better understand its potential as an economic opportunity rather than a burden.
  
  Researchers from the Technological Institute of Santo Domingo and the IDB have developed methods to produce energy from sargassum while separating the arsenic contained in the algae. Mexican government departments and university research centres are also exploring the potential to use sargassum as an organic construction material to produce blocks, bricks, paving stones, and asphalt mixtures.
  
  Mexico has invested heavily in cleaning up the huge influx of sargassum over the last decade. Now, the government and private sector hope to effectively analyse the brown seaweed to better understand its potential as a biofuel, fertiliser, or other product, and to develop economic opportunities from something that has so far been seen as a plague that disrupts regional tourist activity and revenue. Source: Oilprice.com
- 2026-08-17
  Somali Piracy Surges Amid Hormuz Blockade
  The effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz has forced hundreds of commercial ships onto longer routes around Africa, and Somali pirates are moving quickly to exploit the sudden increase in traffic off the continent’s eastern coast. Oil tankers MT Honour... Read more The effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz has forced hundreds of commercial ships onto longer routes around Africa, and Somali pirates are moving quickly to exploit the sudden increase in traffic off the continent’s eastern coast. Oil tankers MT Honour 25, MT Eureka and MT Asana were hijacked in the Gulf of Aden and off Puntland between April and July 2026, the largest attacks by Somali pirates in years. The Iran war has now delivered these groups more targets, spread across thousands of miles of ocean, while diverting naval resources to the Persian Gulf and Red Sea.
  
  Somali piracy peaked in 2011 before an international crackdown reduced attacks to a fraction of their former levels. The first major revival came in late 2023, when Houthi attacks in the Red Sea forced hundreds of vessels away from the Suez Canal and around the Cape of Good Hope. And with U.S. forces all diverted to the war against Iran in the Persian Gulf, it’s largely a free-for-all for Somali pirates. Unlike the disorganized bands of the early 2000s, today's Somali pirates are ranging much farther from shore, and their operations have become much more sophisticated. And perhaps even more concerning, according to reports from a UN panel of experts, there is now direct coordination between Yemeni militants and Somali networks.
  
  In exchange for creating maritime chaos to keep Western navies distracted, the Houthis have supplied Somali pirate cells with advanced weaponry, military training and precision GPS tracking devices to pinpoint commercial hulls. Al-Shabaab--one of the most lethal terrorist groups in Africa--provides onshore logistical backing along parts of the Somali coast where pirate gangs launch operations or hold hijacked vessels. Intelligence reports indicate the group receives a generous cut of up to 30% from successful maritime ransom payouts.
  
  According to a joint study by Interpol, the World Bank and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Horn of Africa piracy generated over $400 million in ransom payments from 179 hijacked ships between 2005 and 2012, averaging roughly $2.23 million per ship. The money follows a structured economy, with pirate crews receiving a standard 10% to 15% fee, local financiers claim 30% to 50% for funding food, fuel and weapons, while the rest is laundered into legitimate businesses, according to the study. And it’s only becoming more lucrative with time.
  
  A June 30, 2026, analysis by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC) reports that ransom demands have been made for all three commercial vessels hijacked in the current wave. The demand for Eureka was reportedly $10 million. Separately, the pirates holding Honour 25 have demanded $3 million for the tanker, cargo and crew.
  
  GI-TOC says pirates received $1.2 million-$1.5 million for the release of the Chinese fishing vessel Liao Dong Yu 578 in March this year. The same vessel had reportedly generated another $2 million ransom in 2024. GI-TOC says counter-piracy officials believe the latest payment helped catalyze the current wave of attacks.
  
  The Gulf of Guinea is yet another piracy hotspot in Africa thanks to the region’s riches in oil and gas as well as a well-trained militia due the Delta's secessionist movement. While local law enforcement and naval forces have managed to curb attacks in shallower waters, pirates are highly adaptable to new environments. Now, they are using heavily armed mother ships to strike targets well outside state jurisdictions and exclusive economic zones. The region’s pirate networks now operate with military-grade weapons, an intricate shipping intelligence network and complicated financial backing.
  
  War-risk insurance premiums for commercial shipping transiting the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf spiked by over 1,000%--surging from pre-conflict levels of roughly 0.15%–0.25% of a vessel's value up to 7.5% and 10% per voyage shortly after the closure of the Strait of Hormuz in March.
  
  With African maritime zones highly vulnerable due to a lack of equipment and manpower, and with American forces diverted to the Persian Gulf indefinitely, piracy sees its biggest opportunity yet. It means an African diversion isn’t necessarily going to avoid risk premiums. Source: Oilprice.com
- 2026-08-17
  South Africa’s Top Court Blocks Shell Wild Coast Exploration
  South Africa’s Constitutional Court has blocked Shell-led exploration along the country’s Wild Coast, adding another legal setback to an offshore sector already struggling to keep pace with neighboring Namibia. The country’s highest court on Friday... Read more South Africa’s Constitutional Court has blocked Shell-led exploration along the country’s Wild Coast, adding another legal setback to an offshore sector already struggling to keep pace with neighboring Namibia.
  
  The country’s highest court on Friday overturned a 2024 Supreme Court of Appeal ruling that had preserved a pathway for Shell and Impact Africa to conduct seismic surveys off South Africa’s east coast under an exploration right granted in 2014.
  
  Local communities and environmental groups had challenged the plans partly on grounds that consultation was inadequate. Justice Jody Kollapen said the Supreme Court of Appeal order was set aside.
  
  Shell said it remained committed to responsible offshore exploration, stakeholder engagement and environmental stewardship.
  
  The ruling does not end Shell’s broader South African ambitions.
  
  The supermajor received environmental authorization last year to drill as many as five ultra-deepwater exploration wells in the Northern Cape Ultra Deep Block off South Africa’s west coast, part of the Orange Basin that extends north into Namibia.
  
  Shell has already made major discoveries on the Namibian side of that basin, where exploration has moved substantially faster.
  
  The company has also been pursuing a 60% operating interest in South Africa’s Block 2C through a proposed farm-in agreement with state-owned PetroSA. Under that deal, Shell would pay a $25 million signing bonus and fund roughly $135 million to $150 million for an initial three-well program. The transfer still requires regulatory approval.
  
  That leaves South Africa in an awkward position.
  
  Its offshore acreage sits alongside one of the world’s most closely watched new exploration regions, but court challenges and permitting disputes have repeatedly delayed work on the South African side of the border.
  
  Shell, meanwhile, has been reducing its downstream exposure in the country while continuing to pursue upstream opportunities. The company moved to sell its South African retail and trading business after previously disposing of its stake in the shuttered Sapref refinery. Source: Oilprice.com
- 2026-08-17
  U.S. West Coast Refiners Tap Malaysian Supply
  A cargo of fuel oil from Malaysia is making its way to a refinery on the U.S. West Coast in the first such shipment in three years as global supply of feedstock for refineries has tightened in recent months due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. The... Read more A cargo of fuel oil from Malaysia is making its way to a refinery on the U.S. West Coast in the first such shipment in three years as global supply of feedstock for refineries has tightened in recent months due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
  
  The Solomon Sea tanker, laden with more than 540,000 barrels of low-sulfur and straight-run (LSSR) fuel oil, departed from Malaysia’s PRefChem refinery operated by state oil and gas giant Petronas last week, tanker data on MarineTraffic shows. The cargo is set to arrive in the United States in early September.
  
  The tanker is heading to a refinery on the U.S. West Coast, a source with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
  
  The cargo is the first shipment from Malaysia’s 300,000-bpd PRefChem refinery in Pengerang to the United States since 2023, per shipping data monitored by Reuters.
  
  U.S. refiners usually import fuel oil to use as feedstock from close exporting countries including Mexico and Venezuela, but the tight global fuel market and soaring refining margins have made the arbitrage wide enough for Malaysian supply.
  
  The LSSR type of fuel oil is an uncracked residual petroleum product from low-sulfur crude oil. Due to the low sulfur content and minimal impurities, the uncracked LSSR fuel oil is a favored feedstock for refiners to produce gasoline or diesel, or blend into low-sulfur marine fuel.
  
  Due to the tight fuel markets globally and peak seasonal demand, U.S. refiners have maximized capacity utilization rates this summer and are apparently in search of quality feedstocks from wherever available.
  
  U.S. gasoline and diesel exports have run at record levels in recent weeks as the global fuel market is tightening amid depleting inventories, supply bottlenecks in the Middle East and Russia, and peak summer demand.
  
  In the entire oil complex, refined products are facing the biggest squeeze, as diesel, gasoil, and jet fuel supplies tighten, pushing refining margins to record highs.
  
  Source: Oilprice.com
- 2026-08-17
  Kazakhstan Accuses Big Oil of $10.7 Billion Corruption in Kashagan Oil Project
  Kazakhstan has alleged in a confidential arbitration case that some of the biggest international oil firms that have developed the giant Kashagan oilfield awarded $10.7 billion worth of contracts with unjustified cost increases or through bribes, the... Read more Kazakhstan has alleged in a confidential arbitration case that some of the biggest international oil firms that have developed the giant Kashagan oilfield awarded $10.7 billion worth of contracts with unjustified cost increases or through bribes, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) team reported on Friday, citing multiple sources.
  
  The Kashagan oilfield was developed by the North Caspian Project consortium of international majors and Kazakhstan's state oil firm KazMunayGas. The shareholders in the consortium include KazMunayGas, Eni, Shell, ExxonMobil, TotalEnergies, China's CNPC, and Japan's INPEX Ltd.
  
  The Kazakh government alleges in the confidential arbitration that the Kashagan consortium awarded in the 2000s about a dozen of contracts that contained unjustifiably high costs, or were compromised by bribery and self-dealing, ICIJ reports.
  
  The claim has been registered with the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, and the tribunal has yet to make any decision on the corruption claims, people with knowledge of the matter told ICIJ.
  
  This claim is the gravest accusation at Big Oil yet in the years-long court dispute between Kazakhstan and the consortium over cost overruns, project delays, and environmental damage at Kashagan.
  
  The allegation of compromised contracts is part of a larger, $160-billion claim, from Kazakhstan against Big Oil over lost production and profits and environmental damages.
  
  Kazakhstan has several arbitration cases with as much as $166 billion in claims against the oil majors for damages, mostly because of lost revenues from delays at the Kashagan oilfield.
  
  The years of disputes have prompted Shell to pause investment in Kazakhstan.
  
  “We are disappointed that we can’t see alignment between the joint venture partners and the government on some of these topics. It does impact our appetite to invest further in Kazakhstan. So we watch the situation with care,” Shell’s chief executive officer Wael Sawan told analysts during an earnings call early this year.
  
  “We think that there’s still a lot of potential investment opportunities in Kazakhstan, but we will hold until we have better line of sight to where things end up,” the executive added. Source: Oilprice.com
- 2026-08-17
  India's Coal Demand Set to Hit 1.6 Billion Tons by 2030
  India’s coal demand is set to jump to 1.6 billion tons in 2030, from about 1.2 billion tons now, due to higher electricity generation and industrial activity, Indian Coal Secretary Vikram Dev Dutt said on Friday. India, which is the world’s second-biggest... Read more India’s coal demand is set to jump to 1.6 billion tons in 2030, from about 1.2 billion tons now, due to higher electricity generation and industrial activity, Indian Coal Secretary Vikram Dev Dutt said on Friday.
  
  India, which is the world’s second-biggest coal consumer behind China, plans to create a coal trade exchange and raise in its domestic coal supply to boost market transparency and energy security, respectively.
  
  A local coal exchange will create a transparent marketplace for buyers and sellers and could later lead to the establishment of a market for coal derivatives in India, the secretary said at a commodity industry event in Mumbai.
  
  “Coal demand is projected to rise further to an estimated 1.6 billion tonnes by 2030, and under this situation, where the country has moved from a scarcity scenario to a surplus scenario, a shift that underscores the need for more efficient, transparent and market-driven mechanisms for coal trade,” Dutt said, as quoted by Indian media.
  
  Last year, India’s Coal Ministry proposed to establish a coal trading exchange as domestic coal production jumps with the government push for higher output and sector reforms allowing private firms to operate mines.
  
  Overall coal-fired power generation and capacity installations in India continue to rise, and coal remains a key pillar of India’s electricity mix with about 60% share of total power output.
  
  Despite booming renewable capacity additions, India continues to rely on coal to meet most of its power demand as authorities also look to avoid blackouts in cases of severe heat waves.
  
  Coal will still be a key part of India’s power system for the next two decades, Rajnath Ram, adviser for energy at the government policy think tank, NITI Aayog, said at the end of last year.
  
  “We cannot be subjective about coal. The question is how sustainably we can use it,” the official noted. Source: Oilprice.com

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