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.
Argentina’s YPF interested in offshore Uruguay
Argentina’s YPF interested in offshore Uruguay
Buenos Aires, 1 June (Argus) — Argentina's state-owned YPF has an eye trained on offshore exploration to complement its long experience with onshore oil and natural gas production, chief executive Horacio Marin said on Monday. "YPF needs to invest in offshore activity," Marin said at the opening of the annual conference of Arpel, a regional association of oil and companies, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Marin said a first target could be YPF's block off the coast of neighboring Uruguay. The block is 200km (120 miles) off the Uruguay coast and covers 17,000 km². It is adjacent to block 6, where US-based APA plans to spud an exploratory well in late 2026 or early 2027, according to Uruguay's state-owned Ancap. YPF previously announced that it was negotiating with Italy's Eni to take a stake in the block. Marin said he hoped to close that deal later this year and that there was the possibility that an exploration well could be drilled in 2028. Uruguay has been attracting attention since discoveries were made in Namibia, across the Atlantic Ocean. Uruguay and Namibia were connected before the plates separated, so Ancap is betting that they share the same geology. Companies agree, with new majors joining during the past year. QatarEnergy announced in May that it had taken an 18pc share in offshore block 4 from Shell, whose stake fell to 32pc with the transaction. US-based APA operates the block and holds 50pc. The company previously acquired 30pc in block 2, which is operated by Shell with 70pc, and 30pc in block 7, which is operated by Shell with 40pc. Chevron holds the remaining 30pc. Of Uruguay's remaining blocks, block 1 includes Chevron with 60pc and UK-based Sintana with 40pc. Block 3 is 100pc owned by Sintana, block 5 is 100pc owned by YPF, while block 6 is fully owned by APA. YPF is Argentina's largest producer and is currently leading major projects to monetize the country's Vaca Muerta unconventional formation, including the 12mn tonne(t)/yr Argentina LNG and the Vmos oil pipeline to export up to 700,000 b/d of crude. By Lucien Chauvin Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Foreign buyers lured back to Canada’s upstream
Foreign buyers lured back to Canada’s upstream
New York, 1 June (Argus) — After rushing to the exits just a few years ago, international buyers are returning to Canada's oil and gas patch, drawn by a deep pool of untapped reserves on offer as growth slows elsewhere. A pivot back to oil and gas under Canadian prime minister Mark Carney, driven in part by a desire to diversify exports given trade tensions with the US, has seen moves to fast-track pipeline projects and ease some environmental regulations. Overseas investors are also increasingly turning to Canada as a relatively safe haven at a time of geopolitical uncertainty, in a marked shift after some of the largest majors scaled back exposure to the oil sands following investor pressure. Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) have largely centred upon the Montney shale basin in British Columbia and Alberta, as well as the Duvernay in west-central Alberta. A slowing US shale sector that has seen the best remaining acreage already exchange hands is also spurring greater interest in Canadian inventory that offers a cheaper cost of entry. "These Canadian plays — the Montney and Duvernay — offer a good blend of high-quality resource and duration, and that's something that some US operators lack today," says energy consultancy Enverus' senior analyst Michael Berger. "There is an incentive to look north of the border." While Alberta's oil sector has been boosted by this year's rally in crude prices, there has also been a growing recognition of its outsized role against a backdrop of elevated trade tensions with the US. To that end, Carney has backed plans to increase LNG and oil exports from British Columbia to deepen trade ties with Asia and Europe, and pledged faster approvals to ease bottlenecks. In announcing its initial foray into Canada last week, US independent Northern Oil and Gas (NOG) cited the Duvernay's "high-quality, low-cost, long-life inventory with meaningful upside that remains largely untapped". NOG, which bought a 25pc stake in assets from Parallax Energy for $259mn, is following other US firms. Ovintiv doubled down on the Montney last year, acquiring NuVista Energy for $2.7bn, to gain control of 140,000 net acres and 100,000 b/d of oil equivalent. US private equity has also been keen, with Carlyle Group and NGP Energy Capital Management funding privately held Cygnet Energy's takeover of Kiwetinohk Energy in October. Parallax is backed by Carnelian Energy Capital. Vote of confidence In April Shell acquired ARC Resources in a $13.6bn deal that establishes Canada as a "heartland" for the major, chief executive Wael Sawan said. The purchase will also support Shell's growing LNG footprint in Canada. Calgary-based Whitecap Resources says the transaction has put a spotlight on the Canadian energy sector and "people are hyper-focused" on the Montney and Duvernay. The size and quality of inventory in Canada's hottest plays will continue to drive deals, but bigger acquisitions may be limited. "There are fewer and fewer candidates out there for large-scale M&A activity," Whitecap chief executive Grant Fagerheim says. A referendum scheduled for October over whether Alberta should remain part of Canada could cast a shadow over the investment outlook, but analysts said it was too early to say whether it could slow deal-making. The total value of Canadian upstream deals is running at $17bn so far this year, Enverus says, compared with $19.5bn in 2025 and $12.9bn the year before. For now, analysts see further foreign interest in Canada's upstream, encouraged by a more supportive federal government and new pipeline projects that are easing concerns about getting supplies to market. "All of these factors combined with inventory pressures elsewhere have seen capital re-emerge and new buyers come back to Canada," TD Securities senior research analyst Aaron Bilkoski says. By Brett Holmes and Stephen Cunningham Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Iran strikes airbase used in US attack
Iran strikes airbase used in US attack
Dubai, 1 June (Argus) — Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Monday it had struck an airbase used by the US to launch an attack on a communications tower in Sirik, near the strait of Hormuz. "Following the aggression of the US army against a communication tower in Sirik… the IRGC Airforce targeted the airbase from which the aggression originated, and the intended targets were destroyed." The IRGC did not specify the location of the airbase. But Kuwait's ministry of defence said at around 06:00 local time on Monday that the country's air defences were "engaging hostile missile and drone attacks". The ministry did not initially disclose the source or target of the attacks but has since blamed Iran, describing it as a "dangerous escalation". Kuwait hosts several US military bases, including the Ali al-Salem airbase west of Kuwait City, near the Iraqi border. Several other Gulf countries also host US bases. The US attacks referenced by the IRGC were confirmed by US Central Command (Centcom) on Monday. Centcom said it had conducted "self-defence strikes on Iranian radar and command and control sites for drones" in Gerouk — a port city in Sirik county — and on Qeshm Island in the strait of Hormuz. The US strikes took place on Saturday and Sunday "in response to aggressive Iranian actions", including the shooting down of a US drone that was "operating over international waters". Centcom did not specify where the strikes were launched from. The exchanges come as Washington and Tehran continue to trade messages in search of an agreement to end the conflict and reopen the strait of Hormuz. The White House suggested on 28 May that a US-Iran deal was close, with President Donald Trump indicating a possible lifting of the US blockade on Iranian ports. Washington imposed the blockade in mid-April in response to Iran's moves to close the strait of Hormuz. Assessments from Tehran have remained more cautious, reflecting wide gaps in the two sides' negotiating positions. But the Trump administration has since rowed back after pushback from supporters concerned that any deal may not address US objectives on Iran's nuclear programme. "Iran really wants to make a deal, and it will be a good one for the USA, and those that are with us," Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform, responding to criticism of his administration's efforts. "Just sit back and relax, it will all work out well in the end ꟷ it always does!" By Nader Itayim Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
US majors warn oil prices rise as stocks fall
US majors warn oil prices rise as stocks fall
New York, 29 May (Argus) — US oil majors warned that inventory drawdowns that cushioned supply disruptions from the conflict in the Middle East are reaching their limits, setting the stage for higher crude prices. Above-normal inventories at the start of the year, along with releases from strategic reserves and waivers on sanctioned oil, helped offset the impact of the effective closure of the strait of Hormuz, which accounts for about a fifth of global daily crude flows. "The ability for the market to absorb this imbalance is drastically diminished today versus where we started," Chevron chief executive officer Mike Wirth told the Bernstein Strategice Decisions Conference in New York this week. "Over the next few weeks, we're likely to see those pressures flow through more directly to physical prices and there's more upward pressure that I would expect as we get into June and certainly into July," he said. Such a scenario raises the prospect that even if a deal is reached to end the war with Iran and re-open the key oil chokepoint, higher oil prices could linger. "We're approaching unheard of inventory levels — I mean, really, really low levels," said ExxonMobil senior vice president Neil Chapman at the conference. "You can debate whether that's going to hit those really low levels in two weeks or three weeks. Once you get to that point, then you'll see price shoot up." Oil prices have traded in a $90-$110/bl range during the period only because of efforts to run down inventories. "It can't last forever," Chapman cautioned. "Once you get to the minimum inventory levels and all-time low inventory levels, there's only one way to go." While the current energy crisis will likely prove short-term, Wirth said there could be long-term ramifications, though he added it was hard to predict what these could be. One immediate effect will be an effort to build up reserves to guard against similar crises in the future, which will support oil demand and push up prices. Billions of dollars will also need to be spent repairing damaged energy facilities across the Middle East, which could spur cost pressures in the industry. "That all tends to suggest the floor under prices is likely to be a little firmer and higher than otherwise would have been," Wirth said. By Stephen Cunningham 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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Argus crude oil services include global daily, monthly, and forecasted prices, with forward curves and consulting services for the international crude markets