This episode covers the return of flows of Iraqi medium sour Kirkuk crude after two-and-half-years

• How the Kirkuk grade traded before its halt in March 2023 and why it’s been absent
• Now the grade is back online, how much is available and how will it trade with the marketing rights belonging to Iraq’s Somo, including the return of the spot market and how that works
• Will Kirkuk create a place for itself in the Mediterranean crude slate again?

Kuganiga Kuganeswaran, Deputy Editor, Crude Oil

Lina Bulyk, Associate Editor, Crude Oil

Listen to Cobin Eggers, Deputy Editor of the Argus Americas Asphalt report, and Julio Viana, our Brazil-based Senior Reporter, cover the following:

• Evolution of asphalt demand in Brazil, including drivers of the record demand seen in 2024

• What factors made the US a major supply source for Brazil

• How political, budgetary and seasonal factors influence the market

• Projections for the end of 2025 and beginning of 2026

• Introduction of a price assessment for waterborne cargo delivered to Brazil

Com mais de 70 projetos em diferentes estágios de desenvolvimento, o Brasil desponta como um dos principais mercados para o hidrogênio verde. A produção nacional, que inclui rotas inovadoras como a conversão de etanol e biometano, busca atender tanto à demanda interna — especialmente na indústria de fertilizantes — quanto ao mercado externo. Apesar do avanço, gargalos na rede elétrica e desafios regulatórios ainda limitam o crescimento do setor e exigem investimentos para garantir competitividade. Para entender mais sobre hidrogênio verde, ouça a conversa entre Maria Albuquerque, especialista da publicação Argus Brasil Combustíveis, e Victor Uchoa, líder da área de consultoria da Argus para a América Latina.

This episode unpacks how South Korea’s aggressive condensate buying and Russian export disruptions have reshaped Asia’s light ends market. We explore the ripple effects on pricing, trade flows, and regional supply, as well as the impact of Middle East refinery turnarounds. With premiums surging and availability tightening, we look ahead to Q4 and what it means for buyers navigating a volatile condensate and naphtha landscape.

Topics Covered:

• South Korea’s aggressive condensate buying spree

Driven by fears of naphtha shortages, South Korean refiners are snapping up regional condensate and ultra-light crude grades, pushing out traditional buyers like Indonesia’s TPPI.

• Russian export disruptions following the Ust-Luga terminal attack

The late-August drone strike on Novatek’s facility has halted condensate splitter operations, slashing naphtha exports to Asia and tightening regional supply.

• Middle East refinery turnarounds tightening naphtha supply

Planned maintenance at Kuwait’s Mina Abdullah and Saudi Arabia’s Satorp refineries in Q4 is expected to reduce naphtha output, compounding the supply crunch.

• Surging spot premiums across condensate and naphtha markets

Premiums for grades like Ichthys, Cossack, and Kutubu Light have hit multi-year highs, while naphtha cracks and spot premiums have climbed amid tighter availability and shifting trade flows.

In the latest episode of the Crude Report: TMX Series, Argus Americas Crude west coast reporter John Cordner talks with deputy editor Amanda Smith about Canadian crude exports via the Trans Mountain pipeline. Increased production and more favorable arbitrage economics are expected to boost waterborne exports from the Vancouver area.

Topics discussed:

• Although most Canadian crude exports head to the US, last year’s Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion (TMX) has provided the conduit to export an average of 440,000 b/d to the US west coast and Asia this year.

• Canadian and condensate production is projected to reach a record 5.05mn b/d in the fourth quarter, increasing the need for export capacity.

• December TMX export volumes may match March’s record levels of 530,000 b/d, with indications suggesting the heavy Canadian waterborne fob Vancouver premium to inland prices in Alberta will be high enough to make pipeline flows more lucrative.

In this episode of the Biofuels Report, marine fuel reporters Luis Gronda and Natália Coelho explore the International Maritime Organization’s proposed carbon levy for shipping, global reactions to the plan, and what it could mean for the future of marine fuels and emissions targets.

Como anfitrión de la COP30, Brasil se posiciona como líder en la agenda climática, mientras avanza con ambiciones crecientes en la exploración petrolera. Conozca los temas en juego en la convención de la ONU contra el calentamiento global en esta conversación entre Camila Fontana, sub-jefa de la oficina de Argus en São Paulo, y Lucas Parolin, editor de noticias que cubrirá la COP30 en Belém, en noviembre.

Ahead of COP30, Brazil is positioning itself as a leader of the climate agenda, while moving ahead with increasing ambitions in oil exploration. Can the host of the UN’s convention against global warming strike a balance? Join the talk between Camila Fontana, deputy bureau chief of the Argus office in Sao Paulo, and Brazil news editor Lucas Parolin, who will be covering the COP30 in Belem in November.