TotalEnergies SETotalEnergies is shipping crude from UAE to US, but the price crash and contango signal oversupply, hurting its upstream margins.
Crashing prices of Middle East benchmark crudes following the U.S.-Iran deal have opened arbitrage for shipping oil from the Middle East to the United States and Europe, traders told Reuters. Spot premiums of Dubai, Murban, and Oman crudes slumped into discounts this week as the market priced in an imminent reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. At least five supertankers carrying UAE Murban and Das crudes are heading to Europe, handled by ExxonMobil, while up to 15 million barrels of UAE Upper Zakum and Murban, Oman, and Iraqi Basrah Medium crudes are en route to the United States on vessels shipped by Exxon and TotalEnergies. The futures curve for Dubai and Murban flipped to contango on Tuesday for the first time since the war began on February 28, signaling eased supply concerns. If the deal holds and the strait reopens, prices are set for further declines as millions of barrels remain in floating storage and producers restore curtailed output.
TotalEnergies SETotalEnergies is shipping crude from UAE to US, but the price crash and contango signal oversupply, hurting its upstream margins.
Exxon Mobil CorpExxonMobil is shipping crude from UAE to US/Europe, but the price crash and contango signal oversupply, hurting its upstream margins.