UAE's ADNOC offers crude oil for delivery via tender: Reuters

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UAE’s ADNOC offers crude oil for delivery via tender: Reuters

June 2, 2026

DUBAI,— Abu Dhabi National Oil Company has put crude oil up for sale in a spot tender, a tender document seen by Reuters on Tuesday showed, as the UAE producer navigates shipping disruptions tied to the U.S.-Iran war.

ADNOC is offering cargoes of Upper Zakum, Umm Lulu and Das crude on a cost-and-freight basis.

Buyers may nominate their preferred destination when submitting bids and are permitted to bid for up to 2 million barrels.

The cargoes are available for delivery between June and September.

All three crude grades come from fields inside the Gulf and are shipped through the Strait of Hormuz.

Since the U.S.-Iran war began, ADNOC has moved some oil through the strait with tanker location trackers switched off to reduce the risk of Iranian attacks.

Shipments were either transferred vessel-to-vessel through ship-to-ship operations before reaching buyers, or sailed directly to the destination.

Crude pricing in the tender is set at a differential to either ADNOC’s official selling prices or the Dubai benchmark, the document showed.

Separately, ADNOC has resumed exports of naphtha through an alternative route using the Omani port of Sohar, traders said, pushing Asian naphtha prices to their lowest level since early March.

ADNOC halted roughly 1 million metric tons per month of naphtha exports from its Ruwais refinery in April after the war limited shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

The company resumed shipments last month by sending tankers to collect cargoes from inside the Gulf and then transferring them at Sohar port to other vessels bound for Asia, through a process known as ship-to-ship transfers.

The arrangement gives buyers an alternative supply route, allowing them to avoid sending ships through the strait.

Two tankers, Minerva Pisces and Torm Gwyneth, loaded naphtha from ADNOC-controlled vessels near Sohar around May 30 and were heading to Asia, according to shipping data cited by traders.

Traders said additional tankers may have taken on ADNOC naphtha at Sohar, though not all vessel movements appear in available shipping data.

“We do not comment on the position, movements or routing of our vessels as a matter of policy,” an ADNOC spokesperson told Reuters.

Asian naphtha prices surged to a record $1,300 per metric ton in March, with the refining margin climbing to a record $467 per ton over Brent crude, after the war tightened Gulf supplies.

The Gulf accounts for more than half of Asian naphtha imports.

By Tuesday, Asia’s benchmark naphtha price for second-half July delivery had dropped to $788 per ton, with the margin falling to about $84 per ton.

Prices face added pressure from weakening demand, as limited feedstock supply has led to widespread production cuts and force majeures across Asian petrochemical complexes.

The International Energy Agency projects global naphtha demand will fall by 80,000 barrels per day to 7.136 million barrels per day this year.

One India-based trader told Reuters prices are unlikely to return to March highs, citing weak demand and no expectation of further Gulf supply cuts.

(With files from Reuters)