France's TotalEnergies has sold early March-loading supplies of Angolan crude to Thailand's PTT, market sources said. This comes as the US-Iran war continues to disrupt supplies from the Middle East, pushing freight rates to record highs and driving urgent demand for prompt crude supplies.
The French major sold a 1mn bl shipment of medium sweet Girassol and a 950,000 bl shipment of Pazflor to Thailand's state-controlled refiner, according to sources. Both shipments on behalf of TotalEnergies loaded over 2-3 March, according to Angolan Sonangol's March export schedule.
Some market participants said the unconfirmed trade was said to have taken place at around a $12/bl premium to the North Sea Dated benchmark on a delivered Thailand basis. Others said it was below $11/bl — where offers had landed on a delivered North China basis earlier in the week.
Argus reported on 2 March that TotalEnergies offered Girassol above a $9/bl premium, and Pazflor above an $11/bl premium. The grades were priced against March North Sea Dated, for arrival during 5-15 April on a delivered Qingdao basis, traders had said. The offers were not confirmed.
Concerns around a possible crude supply crunch arising from the US-Iran war remain front of mind for buyers in Asia-Pacific. The conflict has heightened worries around disruptions to crude deliveries from the Middle East and shipping through the strait of Hormuz in particular. This means buyers in Thailand may be willing to pay top prices for prompt supplies or look to shorter-haul crude to meet their needs.
The war in the Middle East has accelerated an already brisk rally in crude shipping rates, pushing them to record highs after resilient global demand for oil was already stretching the tanker fleet.
PTT is seemingly the first Asian buyer to have bought supplies at what seems to be a wide premium, thus absorbing surging freight rates, at a time when most other Asia-Pacific buyers — such as those from China — have adopted a more cautious approach. A bulk of Angolan exports typically find an outlet in China.
Thailand relies heavily on crude shipments from the Middle East and the US, followed by supplies from southeast Asian countries including Malaysia and Indonesia.
Around 465,000 b/d or nearly 55pc of total crude that was exported to Thailand in 2025 was from the UAE and Saudi Arabia, data from Vortexa shows. Last year, Thailand's top three most preferred grades by volume were UAE'S light sour Murban, US light sweet WTI and Saudi Arabia's medium sour Arab Light. The country took just 28,000 b/d of crude from west Africa.
The country suspended its oil exports on 2 March to safeguard domestic reserves on expectations of shipping disruptions arising from the US-Iran conflict. Thailand has about 61 days of oil reserves and is exploring alternative energy sources, the country's energy ministry has said.
