Argus WTI Houston
The US Gulf coast has emerged as the global epicentre of crude price discovery
WTI Houston: the Heart of Global Oil Markets
Argus can help you to discover US Gulf coast’s pivotal role in shaping the global oil landscape. As a central production hub, this region contributes 12% of the world's oil production, with over 9 million daily barrels, including offshore production. Home to 10% of global refining capacity, PADD 3 boasts over 50 complex refineries and a CDU capacity of 10 million barrels per day.
US Gulf Coast role in global oil
World's oil production
12% of the world's oil production, with over 9 million daily barrels, including offshore production.
Global refining capacity
Home to 10% of global refining capacity, PADD 3 boasts over 50 complex refineries and a CDU capacity of 10 million barrels per day.
Global oil volumes
With WTI crude being exported to over 70 countries, this region is a cornerstone of global oil exports, accounting for 10% of global oil volumes.
Argus WTI Houston: Your Benchmark for Price Transparency
Argus WTI Houston is at the forefront of price transparency, ensuring fair and accurate pricing within the global oil market. With WTI crude being exported to over 70 countries, this region is a cornerstone of global oil exports, accounting for 10% of global oil volumes.
A Global Waterborne Crude, Underpinned by a Liquid Pipeline Market
In most major markets, crude oil is transported by water. However, the WTI Houston and Midland markets are unique, with oil travelling first by pipeline in rateable transactions. This high volume of daily transactions provides numerous points of price discovery throughout the day, expertly captured by our team of crude oil market reporters. Cargoes at the US Gulf Coast are priced at a differential to the pipeline market, benefiting from the underlying price dynamics of the highly liquid and transparent US pipeline market.
Understanding the WTI Supply Chain
Understanding the WTI supply chain and the drivers of its price formation is imperative for anyone buying, selling, or trading crude oil globally. The Gulf Coast stands out with its ability to process heavy crude, housing over 60% of global coking capacity. This region produces and consumes a significant amount of oil, creating a unique market with integrated production and refining capabilities.
WTI and Argus: A Deeply Rooted Relationship
Argus WTI assessments at Midland and Houston have been the standard physical benchmarks for US crude and settlement indexes for a robust derivatives market for two decades. These prices are assessed as differentials to the Argus WTI formula basis, based on the Nymex light sweet crude futures contract — one of the world’s most actively traded oil futures. Argus WTI Houston and Argus WTI Midland collectively form the basis of the world’s third-largest crude oil derivatives market, after Nymex light sweet and Ice Brent. Our rich, deep, and trusted coverage of the US crude oil market is unrivalled, making Argus the clear choice for trading companies seeking to manage WTI positions in both physical and paper markets.
Latest crude oil news
Browse the latest market moving news on the global crude oil industry.
ExxonMobil Rotterdam refinery limited since outage
ExxonMobil Rotterdam refinery limited since outage
London, 28 August (Argus) — ExxonMobil's 200,200 b/d Rotterdam refinery is still producing less than normal volumes in late August, following a power outage earlier in the month, according to several market sources. ExxonMobil declined to comment. A source said output was disrupted at least for diesel and residual fuel oil. Another said they had been "waiting ages" to load from the refinery and then told to load from a different location. Another said there had been no barge loadings for "a while" but operations could restart by the end of August. Another said they expected the issue to persist into September. The refinery was affected by a power outage on 13 August. Dutch emergency services said all processes stopped at the site , which was related to a fire at a transformer substation in the Maasvlakte district of Rotterdam port. By Jide Tijani and Benedict George Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Japan’s Eneos to keep Middle East as main crude source
Japan’s Eneos to keep Middle East as main crude source
Tokyo, 28 August (Argus) — The Middle East will continue to be Japanese refiner Eneos Holdings' main crude source, but dependence on the strait of Hormuz could be lowered depending on the cost and risk balance, executive vice president and chief financial officer Soichiro Tanaka said in an interview with Argus . "The Middle East will remain a crude source with a significant share, although its share may decline from past levels," Tanaka said. The firm will return to Middle Eastern crude to some extent as the situation stabilises, given its economic advantages and the firm's experience of processing Middle Eastern crude as its main crude supply. Nationwide, Japan has started discussions to diversify crude oil sourcing, including a scheme to raise funds from refiners and importers to support diversification. "If it becomes an economically viable framework and offers greater overall value in various respects, we will choose to make use of it," Tanaka said. The framework will have influence on Japan's future dependence on the Middle East for crude, but "Middle Eastern crude will not drastically decrease," he said. Japan sourced 94pc of its crude imports from the Middle East in 2025, and most of the volumes passed through the strait of Hormuz. To reduce geopolitical risk, Japan is also considering financial measures to support construction and enhancement of alternative supply facilities in the Middle East, such as pipelines bypassing the strait. Reducing reliance on the strait "depends not only on buyers but also on suppliers' measures such as pipeline construction," Tanaka said. "Hopefully, it will settle at the point where risk and cost are best balanced, but that is beyond our control," he added. Currently the disruption at the Bab el-Mandeb strait is affecting Eneos' crude procurement, but the level is limited and Eneos can still meet domestic supply, he said. "Some adjustments have been necessary, but there is no supply shortage. It is a matter of timing and a temporary structural fluctuation." Exploring overseas potential Eneos as a group aims to raise its overseas revenue to around 50pc in the April 2030-March 2031 fiscal year. As part of this strategy, the company has announced plans to acquire petroleum assets in southeast Asia and Australia from Chevron, including its 50pc share of Singapore Refining Company's export-oriented 290,000 b/d refinery, as well as terminals and supply networks in southeast Asia and Australia. The firm has not fully utilised its capacity to conduct trading, and there is potential here, Tanaka said. The acquisition of assets in southeast Asia will provide a return in trading backed by assets, he reiterated, highlighting the expected growth in demand for petroleum in the region. The growth in southeast Asia's demand for petroleum could also be a key driver for the Japanese refiner to seek a broader market to absorb Japan's expected surplus of refining capacity, since Japanese demand is on a downtrend. "We are not considering any immediate action. But over time, refining capacity will be somewhat excessive relative to domestic demand. On the other hand, demand will continue to grow in southeast Asia," Tanaka said. "We will determine the future refining capacity based on how much overseas markets such as southeast Asia grow and whether supply from domestic refineries can be used there." "It is a matter of how we balance between the future outlook and marginal refineries, so it is an issue that we need to assess on an ongoing basis," Tanaka said. Eneos has around 1.64mn b/d of refining capacity in Japan, accounting for the largest share in the country's overall capacity around 3.11mm b/d. "There are no specific projects under consideration, but we are looking at whether there is still room to expand further in the downstream business in southeast Asia," Tanaka said. Eneos is also exploring the possibility of expanding overseas business in other sectors. The company has also recently announced the plans to acquire US-based chemical producer TPC Group . "The US market is attractive given the competitiveness of ethane crackers and feedstock," Tanaka said. Eneos is also focusing on southeast Asia as the "core area" for upstream business including the LNG sector and aims to expand it, Tanaka said. By Kohei Yamamoto Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Hormuz traffic constrained despite Oman-Iran talks
Hormuz traffic constrained despite Oman-Iran talks
New York, 27 August (Argus) — Commercial vessel traffic through the strait of Hormuz remained severely constrained on 26 August with Iran continuing to attack vessels in the waterway while joint Iranian-Omani talks on managing ship traffic continue. A total of 12 vessels transited through the strait of Hormuz on 26 August, split between seven outbound transits — including five tankers — and five inbound transits, including two tankers, according to data from maritime security firm Windward. The transits occurred mostly on the northern Iranian-preferred lane. This puts vessel traffic through the strait just under 10pc of the normal traffic levels prior to the 28 February US-Israel attack on Iran that prompted Iran to declare the waterway closed. Iran attacked Kuwait's state-owned oil products tanker the Al Salam II on 26 August while it was attempting to exit the strait of Hormuz, data from the UK Maritime Trade Organization (UKMTO) shows, likely through the US-assisted southern traffic lane. Two Indian-flagged cargo vessels exited the strait on the southern lane, and the tanker Sela exited through an unconfirmed lane, with all remaining transits taking place on the northern lane. Windward tracked a US Treasury-sanctioned medium range product tanker crossing the strait of Hormuz outbound, loaded with an estimated 185,000 bl of Iranian fuel oil, Kpler data shows, with the vessel signaling Oman as its next destination. The tanker is flying a false Nicaraguan flag, data from the International Maritime Organization shows, which is illegal under international law. Data from vessel information firm TankerTrackers.com shows that around 3.7mn b/d have been getting through the strait of Hormuz on average over the last seven days, while data from vessel tracking firm Vortexa places the monthly average for August for the strait around 3.5mn b/d — both significantly lower than the 10mn b/d claimed by US officials . Prior to the joint US-Israeli attacks on Iran which prompted Iran to declare the strait of Hormuz closed, around 23mn b/d of crude, refined products and natural gas flowed through the narrow waterway on average, data from Vortexa show. The US Central Command, which oversees US forces in the Middle East, claimed in a UKMTO notice that the US facilitated 37 vessel transits through the strait of Hormuz on 25-26 August, a figure which was much lower than publicly available information shows and that could not be corroborated independently. Centcom did not respond to request for comment from Argus to provide additional details on the transits. By Charlotte Bawol Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Libya NOC $1bn funding facility yet to be used
Libya NOC $1bn funding facility yet to be used
London, 27 August (Argus) — Libya's state-owned NOC has yet to draw on a $1bn revolving credit facility intended to finance projects that could raise crude production by 250,000-270,000 b/d, a source with direct knowledge of the arrangement told Argus . Implementation has stalled over how the funding would be provided and the due diligence requirements attached to the facility, the source said. Under the arrangement agreed in February, state-owned Libyan Foreign Bank (LFB) would issue letters of credit to upstream contractors working on NOC projects and later recover the funding from oil revenues. But NOC wants part of the facility transferred directly to the company in cash rather than used to issue letters of credit to contractors, the source said. The proposed projects involve eight NOC affiliates, including Agoco, Waha Oil and Sirte Oil. They could add 250,000-270,000 b/d within 18 months, the source said. This would cover a substantial part of the increase needed to meet NOC's longstanding target of raising crude production to 2mn b/d from around 1.4mn b/d. Due diligence requirements have also contributed to the delay, according to the source. These include checks on companies and banks involved in the proposed projects. "They don't want anybody else digging into these companies. They've spent six months trying to manoeuvre around these controls," the source said. NOC was contacted for comment on the claims concerning its request for direct funding and the due diligence requirements. NOC chairman Masoud Suleiman met LFB chairman Mohammed Ali Addarrat earlier this month. The meeting focused on financing mechanisms for several proposed NOC projects, including infrastructure development and increased storage capacity, NOC said. The facility would represent a departure from NOC's usual funding model, under which contractors are paid using funds allocated by Libya's central government. NOC has repeatedly fallen behind on payments, making contractors including SLB and Halliburton reluctant to take on new work until outstanding debts are repaid, according to the source. The head of a Libyan contracting firm said LFB wanted a clear "paper trail" to ensure the money was spent on the agreed projects. "NOC has a recent track record of using money in other areas or to pay off debt as it's struggling to keep up with payments to services companies and contractors," he said. If NOC cannot persuade LFB to provide cash directly, it may have to "bite the bullet" and accept the bank's conditions, he added. Emergency funding The credit facility could also reduce NOC's reliance on irregular state funding. Libya's oil export revenues are deposited in an NOC account at LFB before being transferred to the central bank. The central bank, which owns LFB, is responsible for allocating funds to NOC for operating and development through the state budget. But years of political division between rival eastern and western authorities have left NOC without a formal budget, forcing it to rely on sporadic emergency funding from the central bank. "NOC received around something like $12bn from the central bank in emergency funding between 2022 and 2025," said Jalel Harchaoui, a Libya specialist at the UK's Royal United Services Institute. "This is a serious sum, but it is not clear how this money was spent." Oil revenues deposited at LFB totalled $15.8bn in the first seven months of this year, according to the Libyan Audit Bureau. NOC periodically transfers most of its dollar revenues to the central bank but retains a working balance at LFB, giving it limited control over part of the proceeds. It draws on that account to pay for oil product imports. A direct transfer from the credit facility would give NOC greater control over the funding. It would echo a 2024 proposal by former NOC chairman Farhat ben Gudara for the company to draw directly on its oil earnings and set its own budget, bypassing the state budget and central bank funding process. By Aydin Calik Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Why Argus WTI?
Unrivalled methodology
Argus reports the US Gulf coast pipeline market the way it trades, rather than forcing it into a one-size-fits-all methodology. We publish volume-weighted average indexes for each assessed grade and location using reported deals done, and publish the underlying deals themselves. This provides our subscribers with accuracy and convenience, as well as a transparent audit trail.
An all-in-one view of your data
Hourly snapshots of the WTI Midland and WTI Houston markets can be viewed on the Argus Crude Market Ticker, also accessible on CME Direct. And for the first time, Argus WTI Midland and Houston futures can be traded directly on-screen through CME Direct, including by entities that do not retain a cash market broker.
Innovation and responsiveness
Argus has reported waterborne cargo prices for WTI Midland for several years on both fob US Gulf coast and delivered-Europe and Asia bases. As the market has developed, so has our approach. In November 2022, we augmented our rolling price for fob Midland WTI by reporting three intramonth periods, to better reflect market structure and the way cargoes are traded.
An expert reporting team
The Argus WTI Houston and Midland assessments are underpinned by the expertise of our Americas editorial team. We demystifying these complex markets through independent and transparent pricing, built on the strength of our relationships with the market. We have been surveying these pipeline markets for decades, meaning we understand the vital connections and nuances that exist.
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