Benchmark naphtha prices for second-half July delivery have dropped to around $788 per tonne from a record $1,300 per tonne reached in March
| Photo Credit:
Amr Alfiky
Asia’s naphtha prices
tumbled to their lowest since early March as the Abu Dhabi
National Oil Co (ADNOC) resumed exports in May via the Omani
port of Sohar, traders said, establishing an alternative route
that could ease the supply crunch caused by the U.S.-Israeli war
on Iran.
ADNOC halted exports of about 1 million metric tons per
month of the petrochemical feedstock from its Ruwais refinery in
April after the war curbed shipping via the Strait of Hormuz.
The United Arab Emirates producer resumed exports last month
by deploying tankers to bring cargoes from the refinery inside
the Gulf before transferring them to other tankers at Sohar port
for export to Asia, a process known as ship-to-ship transfers.
ADNOC’s workaround provides an alternative supply route for
buyers reluctant to risk ships passing through the strait,
allowing more of the oil product to reach Asia.
Two such tankers, Minerva Pisces and Torm Gwyneth, loaded
naphtha from ADNOC-controlled vessels around May 30 from Sohar
and are heading to Asia, shipping data from traders showed.
Traders said more tankers may have loaded ADNOC naphtha via
Sohar, but shipping data does not show all vessel movements.
“We do not comment on the position, movements or routing of
our vessels as a matter of policy,” an ADNOC spokesperson said.
NAPHTHA PRICES TUMBLE
Naphtha prices in Asia surged to a record
$1,300 a metric ton and the refining margin
climbed to a record $467 a ton over Brent crude in March after
the war choked supplies from the Gulf, a region that accounts
for more than half of Asian imports.
On Tuesday, Asia’s benchmark naphtha price for delivery in
the second half of July fell to $788 a ton while the margin
eased to about $84 a ton.
Naphtha prices are also under pressure from demand
destruction as insufficient feedstock supply leads to widespread
run cuts and force majeures across petrochemical complexes in
Asia.
The International Energy Agency expects global naphtha
demand to fall by 80,000 barrels per day to 7.136 million bpd
this year.
One India-based trader said naphtha prices are unlikely to
return to peak March levels because demand is already weak and
the market does not expect further supply cuts from the Gulf.
Published on June 3, 2026
