Totsa, the trading arm of TotalEnergies, has offered to sell up to two million barrels of April-loading Oman crude, traders said. This is the first tender for Middle East oil sales since the Iran war disrupted exports from the region.
Global oil and gas prices jumped this week as the US-Israeli war on Iran halted Middle Eastern energy exports. These tensions also sent freight rates soaring across the globe.
Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, where about a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas flows, remained closed. This closure followed an attack by Iran on five ships.
Totsa is offering cargoes for loading between April 1 and 27 from Oman's Mina al-Fahal port. Traders noted this port is strategically located outside of the Strait of Hormuz.
The tender will close at 17:00 Singapore time (09:00 GMT) on Wednesday. This timeline was confirmed by market sources earlier today.
Spot premiums for Middle East crude benchmarks surged this week on supply disruptions. The premium for Oman hit $7.56 per barrel on Tuesday, which is the highest in over three years.
(Reporting by Siyi Liu and Florence Tan in Singapore; Editing by Tom Hogue and Christian Schmollinger)
