Houston, March 5, 2026, 13:30 CST
- Exxon Mobil is preparing to ship its first U.S. Gulf Coast gasoline cargo to Australia, according to sources.
- Oil prices and Asian refining margins surged, with traffic slowing through the Strait of Hormuz and supplies getting tighter.
- Pressure is building in LNG markets. QatarEnergy has declared force majeure and taken gas liquefaction offline.
Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) is set to move at least 300,000 barrels of gasoline out of the U.S. Gulf Coast, headed for Australia to meet its own import needs, according to four sources familiar with the situation. The company has secured two medium-range tankers—Largo Eagle and Nord Ventura—to take on cargo in Houston sometime between March 13 and 18, loading a combined 600,000 barrels. The last tracked gasoline shipment on this route, based on Kpler data, was from Marathon Petroleum’s Garyville facility back in December 2023. Shipping costs run close to $6 million per vessel, or about $20 for each barrel, and the final price tag “will depend heavily on the magnitude and duration of the conflict,” said James Noel-Beswick, an analyst at Sparta Commodities. Exxon didn’t comment right away; Vitol also declined. Reuters
Oil markets are zeroing in on the Strait of Hormuz after the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran chokes supply lines and snarls shipping traffic, a disruption that’s rattled traders. Brent crude climbed $4.09, or roughly 5%, to $85.49 a barrel as of 1:37 p.m. EST. “Prices will grind higher” if the strait remains shut, said John Kilduff, partner at Again Capital. Reuters
Pressure is hitting refiners now. Singapore’s complex refining margin jumped close to $30 a barrel on Wednesday, according to LSEG data, as crack spreads for jet fuel and diesel surged to their highest levels in years. “This is symptomatic of an impending shortage of feedstocks,” said June Goh, senior oil market analyst at Sparta Commodities. Reuters
Logistics are worsening fast. Reuters, analyzing ship-tracking data, counted at least 200 ships—including oil and LNG tankers—anchored near key Gulf exporters, with several hundred more lined up outside the strait. War-risk insurance for commercial vessels has surged, now at least five times higher. Shipping group BIMCO said shielding every tanker in the danger zone just isn’t feasible.
Asia doesn’t have much slack when it comes to Middle Eastern oil supplies. Imports from the region hit 14.74 million barrels per day in 2025—close to 60% of all crude bought by Asia, Kpler numbers cited by Reuters show. Japan and South Korea face the highest exposure. In Singapore, reliance climbed past 70% last year, after Exxon’s refinery expansion ramped up demand for heavy crude, according to the report.
Gas markets are hitting a familiar bottleneck. QatarEnergy has invoked force majeure, a move that lets it skip contract deliveries if uncontrollable events intervene. According to sources, getting back to usual production levels could take a month or longer after liquefaction operations were halted. Qatar, responsible for roughly 20% of global LNG exports, typically ships those supplies through Hormuz.
Top exporters don’t have much slack. U.S. and Australian LNG plants are already operating close to their limits, with a significant chunk of output locked into long-term deals, according to Reuters calculations and analysts. “There is no massive capacity on the sidelines,” said Alex Munton, director of global gas and LNG at Rapidan Energy Group. Golden Pass LNG — a QatarEnergy-Exxon venture — is set to kick off initial production this month, bringing a 6-million-ton-per-year train online. Reuters
Still, the hazards stack up: more attacks, mounting costs, and a shrinking pool of vessels willing to make the trip. Sonangol Marine Services reported that the Sonangol Namibe, a crude tanker flying the Bahamas flag, likely took a hull breach after an explosion near Iraq’s Khor al Zubair port early Thursday. The company said the vessel remained stable, with no pollution detected.
Exxon shares edged higher, up roughly 0.1% at $149.94 in afternoon trading. Traders are eyeing the Australia cargo—question is, will it remain a one-time cover, or could it become the new normal if the shipping halt persists?
