Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has sold at least 30 million barrels of spot crude to Asian refiners and global trading firms, according to trade sources cited by Reuters and industry reports. The supply boost occurred during a period of reduced tensions following a preliminary U.S.-Iran ceasefire agreement.
Chinese buyers took a substantial share of the Upper Zakum grade. Unipec, the trading arm of state-owned Sinopec, bought between 6 million and 8 million barrels, while Rongsheng Petrochemical secured 2 million barrels. Global trading firm Vitol also acquired 4 million barrels of Upper Zakum crude.
Other Asian refiners also secured large volumes across three offshore grades—Das, Upper Zakum, and Umm Lulu. Indian state refiners Indian Oil Corp and Bharat Petroleum Corp bought a combined 6 million barrels. In East Asia, Japan's Eneos bought 3 million barrels of Das crude, South Korea's GS Energy took 1 million barrels of Das, and South Korea's SK Energy purchased 7 million barrels of Umm Lulu crude.
According to market sources, the cargoes were priced at parity or slight premiums of $1 to $2 per barrel against Dubai benchmarks. Delivery options offered by ADNOC included free-on-board (FOB) terms from storage at Fujairah or offshore terminals at Das Island and Zirku Island, as well as cost-and-freight (CFR) or ship-to-ship transfers off the UAE, Oman, and Malaysia.
Sources
- EnergyNow.com · 2026-09-26
