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.
Dangote launches 700,000 b/d Nigeria refinery IPO
Dangote launches 700,000 b/d Nigeria refinery IPO
Lagos, 14 September (Argus) — Nigeria's Dangote 700,000 b/d Lekki refinery launched its initial public offering (IPO) earlier today to partly finance its expansion to 1.4mn b/d, offering 4.1bn shares at 525 naira/share (40¢/share). Over N10bn worth of offers for Dangote refinery shares were received in the first hour of trading, group chairman of the Nigerian Exchange Group Umaru Kwairanga said. The Dangote refinery IPO is scheduled to end on 13 October. Dangote Group chair Aliko Dangote said that the original plan for the refinery expansion plan was to raise $1bn through private placement and $1.5bn through the IPO, but the private placement received bids worth $3.7bn and was closed at $2.5bn. The debt component of finance for the $14.3bn expansion has already been raised, Dangote said. He said today that foundation piling at the Lekki refinery expansion site has started, while refinery chief executive David Bird provided a project timeline that shows the expansion pushed back to 2030, from end-2029 . Bird said Lekki generated revenues of $13.9bn in the first half of this year, "more than the entirety of 2025". Profit in January-June was $1.8bn, reflecting "a period of low margins, normal margins and also a period of maintenance". The crude distillation unit (CDU) and residual fluid catalytic cracker (RFCC) were offline in parts of January and February, Bird said. Margins have improved in the second half of the year and the CDU run rate was 105pc of capacity in August, he added. Lekki will be Europe's largest single supplier of jet fuel for the third month running, according to Bird. The Dangote Group's plan to expand the Lekki refinery's capacity to 1.4mn b/d is part of a wider $46bn programme that includes a new 700,000 b/d refinery in coastal Kenya and a two-train 12mn t/yr natural gas liquefaction plant in Nigeria. Construction of the 700,000 b/d Lamu refinery in Kenya will start on 30 September and should last three years, Dangote said today, narrowing down a previous timeline. The expansion programme also plans to deliver additional petrochemicals capacity at Lekki. Polypropylene production should increase from 830,000 t/yr to 2.4mn t/yr. Linear alkyl benzene production capacity of 400,000 t/yr is to be introduced. "Additional base oil production capacity also forms part of the broader expansion programme", and "urea production capacity in Nigeria will be tripled from 3mn to 9mn t/yr, in addition to the 3mn t/yr capacity [being built] in Ethiopia", Dangote said in a statement previously sent to Argus . Dangote, in addition to feedgas pipelines for its planned LNG plant, also plans to build export facilities for its LPG, which it currently sells into Nigeria's domestic market exclusively. The company previously said at a 650,000 b/d run rate it could produce about 912,500 t/yr of LPG. Dangote Group also plans to start crude oil production through upstream subsidiary WAEP from Nigeria's shallow-water OMLs 71 and 72 after several years of delay . Two projects to support market access for Dangote refineries' output will see construction start next month, according to Dangote Group. A 2,650km oil products pipeline will be constructed to run from Namibia through Botswana to South Africa. The planned pipeline will link up with another that runs through Zimbabwe and Zambia to terminate in Congo (Kinshasa). An oil products port and storage terminal in coastal Somalia with a connecting pipeline to additional storage in landlocked Ethiopia is the second project. By Adebiyi Olusolape Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Hormuz oversight meeting postponed: Update
Hormuz oversight meeting postponed: Update
Adds details throughout Singapore, 14 September (Argus) — A summit between eight Mideast Gulf littoral states to discuss the strait of Hormuz, scheduled for today, has been postponed, Oman's foreign minister said. The meeting was to take place in Salalah, Oman, between the foreign ministers of Iran, Iraq and the six members of the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) to address a proposal developed by Iran and Oman for safe passage of commercial vessels through the waterway. Oman's foreign minister Badr Albusaidi said the meeting was postponed "in the interests of consensus". The country's foreign ministry said the delay was "in order to prepare the appropriate conditions for constructive dialogue that contributes to achieving sustainable understandings that support the security of the region and its stability." The summit's buildup was not smooth. Drones originating in Iraq targeted Saudi Arabia's 7mn b/d East-West pipeline, forcing state-controlled Saudi Aramco to shut it down. Iraq is home to Iran-backed militia groups, which Riyadh said attacked several of its oilfields in the central and eastern Saudi Arabia earlier this year. Saudi Arabia has faced repeated attacks in recent weeks on energy infrastructure in its southern regions by the Yemen-based Houthi rebels, who are also supported by Tehran. Bahrain's ministry of foreign affairs said on 12 September it would not participate in the meeting, stating it "would not be a party to any collective meeting that includes Iran prior to the restoration of diplomatic relations." "The security and stability of the region cannot be built on turning a blind eye to aggressions, nor purchased by remaining silent on their consequences," it said, noting Bahrain has been subjected to attacks on infrastructure and civilian facilities, including the targeting of an ammonia tank, which "nearly led to comprehensive disaster." The targeting of the East-West pipeline further reflects that attacks on civilian and economic facilities "represent a present danger, not a bygone matter," the ministry said. Saudi Arabia's request The East-West pipeline, which moves crude from Saudi oil fields and processing facilities near the Gulf to the Red Sea port of Yanbu, has been Saudi Arabia's primary route for exporting crude since the start of the US-Iran war. The pipeline came under multiple attacks on 10 September , causing damage and injuring several people. The attacks probably targeted pumping stations that facilitate the flow of oil through the pipeline. Riyadh has provided no details of the damage or a timeline for restoring operations. Saudi Arabia issued no statements linking the attacks on its infrastructure to Monday's meeting, but Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Ebrahim Baghaei said Riyadh had requested the meeting in Oman be postponed, at least in part because of developments relating to the Houthis in Yemen. Baghaei denied any Iranian involvement in the attacks on the Saudi pipeline, attributing such suggestions to "those who wish ill on our region." Crude futures rose today. The front-month November Ice Brent contract rose to near $110/bl, up by nearly 5pc from the close on 11 September. By Prethika Nair and Nader Itayim Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Saudi East-West oil pipeline shut after attack: Update
Saudi East-West oil pipeline shut after attack: Update
Updates with changes throughout New York, 11 September (Argus) — State-owned Saudi Aramco has shut down its 7mn b/d East-West crude pipeline, Saudi Arabia's primary conduit for exporting crude since the start of the US-Iran war, following drone attacks originating in Iraq, Riyadh said on Friday. The pipeline, which moves crude from Saudi fields near the Mideast Gulf to the Red Sea port of Yanbu, came under multiple attacks on Thursday morning, according to the Saudi energy ministry. Saudi Aramco shut down the pipeline as a precautionary measure, while several people have been injured by the attacks. The attacks likely targeted pumping stations that facilitate the flow of oil in the pipeline. Riyadh did not provide details of damage or a timeline for restoring the pipeline's operations. The Saudi foreign ministry said the attacks originated in Iraq. Riyadh in July had blamed Iran-backed groups in Iraq for drone attacks on oil fields in its eastern and central regions. Saudi Arabia then carried out retaliatory air strikes against Iran-affiliated Iraqi militia installations in Iraq. But Riyadh on Friday clarified that — at Baghdad's request — it is not planning retaliatory attacks on Iraqi soil. Iraq's central government confirmed that the attack originated in Iraq, condemned the unnamed perpetrators and vowed to investigate the attack and to take "legal measures against anyone proven to be involved". A September 2019 drone attack on Saudi Aramco's Abqaiq processing facility also originated in Iraq. In the wake of the US-Israeli attack on Iran on 28 February and the de facto closure of the strait of Hormuz by Iran, Saudi Arabia quickly diverted crude through the East-West pipeline. While the line could not replace all the volumes that moved through the strait before the war, it has helped relieve pressure on global crude markets. A pumping station at the terminus of the pipeline on the Red Sea coast came under direct Iranian missile attack in April, reducing the throughput capacity. The Saudis repaired that damage. But since mid-July, Houthi militants in Yemen have conducted their own attacks. Houthis captured the Red Sea port city of Mocha on Friday , bringing the group closer to the Bab el-Mandeb strait, a key outlet for Saudi oil exports to Asia. By Charlotte Bawol and Haik Gugarats Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Saudi East-West oil pipeline shut following attacks
Saudi East-West oil pipeline shut following attacks
New York, 11 September (Argus) — Saudi Arabia's 7mn b/d East-West crude pipeline has been shut down following attacks by Yemen's Houthis, stopping flows on what has been a key conduit for oil out of the Mideast Gulf region since the start of the US-Iran war. The pipeline, which moves crude from Saudi fields near the Mideast Gulf to the Red Sea port of Yanbu, was subject to multiple attacks on the morning of 10 September, according to the Saudi energy ministry. The pipeline was shut down as a precautionary measure, while several people have been injured by the attacks. Emergency and technical teams are responding to the attacks, according to the ministry. Following the late February breakout of war between the US and Iran and the defacto closure of the strait of Hormuz by Iran, Saudi Arabia quickly diverted crude through the East-West pipeline. While the line could not replace all the volumes that moved through the strait before the war, it helped relieve pressure on global crude markets. The viability of crude flows throug the pipeline and Yanbu has been undermined by a series of Houthi attacks on Saudi facilities since mid-July. Houthis captured the Red Sea port city of Mocha on Friday , bringing the group closer to the Bab el-Mandeb strait, a key outlet for Saudi oil exports to Asia. By Charlotte Bawol 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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