The trade underlines the important role of Argus differential assessments in west African crude price discovery and the market’s drive for greater transparency

LONDON, Sept. 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Oil traders have initiated the first west African (WAF) crude cargo transaction on the Argus Open Markets^® (AOM^®) platform, marking a significant step forward in the development of more transparent, auditable and efficient price discovery for physical crude markets.

The deal was initiated on the WAF crude AOM stack. TotalEnergies accepted the offer of a Nigerian Qua Iboe crude cargo at a premium of $4.10/bl to Dated Brent for a 950,000 bl cargo. The deal represents an estimated value of more than $115mn.

Global energy and commodity price reporting agency Argus operates AOM platforms across a range of markets, enabling registered participants to post bids and offers, discover counterparties and initiate transactions within a transparent and auditable framework.

This first deal builds on growing industry engagement with the west African crude AOM platform, where major producers, traders and refiners have increasingly used the screen to show value, test liquidity and contribute observable information to the Argus price assessment process.

West African grades are usually traded as differentials to other outright-price crude benchmarks, making robust, trusted and accurate differential assessments critical to commercial decision-making. Argus’ west African crude differentials are widely referenced by market participants seeking to understand the relative value of Nigerian, Angolan and other regional grades in an increasingly competitive Atlantic basin market.

Historically, much of the physical crude market has relied on bilateral negotiations, which can make price discovery fragmented and difficult. AOM has the potential to change that by bringing bids, offers and trade initiation into a single visible venue, while preserving the bilateral nature of physical negotiations and allowing companies to help shape the value of important regional crude differentials in real time.

Argus Media chairman and chief executive Adrian Binks said: “The first initiated WAF crude trade on the Argus Open Markets platform is an important milestone for price discovery and comes as west African crude is increasingly in demand in markets both east and west of the region, as buyers seek alternatives for lost Mideast Gulf supplies.  West African crude differentials are central to how the market prices and compares different grades, and we are pleased to support market participants with a transparent, auditable platform that complements Argus’ long-established assessment process. This transaction underlines the industry’s appetite for greater transparency and reinforces the important role Argus plays in bringing robust price information to global crude markets.”

Argus contact information 

London: Seana Lanigan

+44 20 7780 4200

Email Seana

Houston: Elizabeth Frye

+1 713 968 0000

Email Elizabeth

Singapore: Tomoko Hashimoto

+65 6496 9960

Email Tomoko

About Argus Media

Argus is the leading independent provider of market intelligence to the global energy and commodity markets. We offer essential price assessments, news, analytics, consulting services, data science tools and industry conferences to illuminate complex and opaque commodity markets.

Headquartered in London with over 1,500 staff, Argus is an independent media organisation with 32 offices in the world’s principal commodity trading hubs.

Companies, trading firms and governments in 160 countries around the world trust Argus data to make decisions, analyse situations, manage risk, facilitate trading and for long-term planning. Argus prices are used as trusted benchmarks around the world for pricing transportation, commodities and energy.

Founded in 1970, Argus remains a privately held UK-registered company owned by employee shareholders and global growth equity firm General Atlantic.

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SOURCE Argus Media