Global energy and commodity price reporting agency Argus has launched the first assessed prices for Abu Dhabi offshore crude exports loading on a ship-to-ship (STS) Gulf of Oman basis. The closure of the strait of Hormuz has disrupted loadings from ports within the region, forcing Mideast Gulf producers to shift their spot market trading away from traditional routes.

The new daily assessments cover Upper Zakum, Das and Umm Lulu crude cargoes transferred STS in the Gulf of Oman. The prices reflect crude delivered from terminals inside the Mideast Gulf and transferred to tankers outside the strait of Hormuz, where trading activity has become increasingly concentrated.

Abu Dhabi crudes primarily traded on a fob Mideast Gulf basis before the outbreak of the US-Iran conflict at the end of February, with buyers taking cargoes directly from their loading ports.

The new assessments complement existing Argus assessments for Murban crude loading at Fujairah in the UAE and Oman crude loading at Mina al-Fahal, giving market participants additional pricing tools for crude exports from the Middle East.

Argus Media chairman and chief executive Adrian Binks said: "Our newly launched Mideast Gulf STS assessments are a response to the uncertainty caused by the on-off closure of the strait of Hormuz. Trading liquidity for Abu Dhabi offshore crude exports is migrating, and the market needs transparent prices which reflect what is going on."

The new prices are published daily in the Argus Crude service.