Iraq temporarily loses its Asian market share; Mexico sends its first fuel oil shipment after regional unrest.
Iraq temporarily loses its Asian market share; Mexico sends its first fuel oil shipment after regional unrest.
2026-05-09
Shafaq News – Baghdad
Middle East turmoil and the Iran-related war have prompted a notable shift in global fuel trade flows, with Asia receiving its first shipment of Mexican fuel oil in nine months to offset declining supplies from Iraq and Kuwait via the Strait of Hormuz.
A Reuters report stated that Asian markets, particularly Singapore, a major hub for ship refueling and trading, are experiencing declining inventories following a drop in fuel oil exports from major Middle Eastern suppliers, primarily Iraq and Kuwait, due to security tensions in the region.
According to ship tracking data, the tanker “Orion” arrived in Singapore loaded with about one million barrels of high-sulfur fuel oil from the Mexican refinery “Salina Cruz,” while PMI, the trading arm of the Mexican company “Pemex,” is preparing to launch additional shipments to Asia during next June.
Energy market traders pointed out that higher fuel oil prices in Asia compared to Western markets opened the door to what is known as “price arbitrage,” which encouraged the flow of supplies from the Americas to Asian markets to compensate for the shortage coming from the Middle East.
shafaq.com
