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Exxon, BP, Vitol ship most US fuels to Australia for a single month in three decades, traders say

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Published19 MAR 26 - 13:51 Reading time  minutes

“There will definitely be more need for these types of (arbitrage) flows,” said Neil Crosby, VP of Oil Analytics at Sparta Commodities, adding that the cheapest source of gasoline barrels into Australia now is Houston, followed by ARA. More flows will likely emerge “the longer this crisis goes on” and “the clearer it gets how ‘short fuels’ Asia is suddenly becoming.”

Reuters, 19 March 2026 — Hormuz disruptions and export bans from China and Thailand have forced a dramatic rerouting of fuel supplies to Australia. ExxonMobil, BP and Vitol are shipping ~240,000 tons of gasoline, diesel and jet fuel from the US this month — the most in over three decades. Australia, which imports 84% of its petroleum needs and holds stockpiles well below global standards, is now pulling Atlantic Basin barrels to cover a gap Asia can no longer fill.

Author

Neil Crosby

Head of Research

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