Asian Refiners Turn to Argentina as Iran War Disrupts Oil Supply

Asian Refiners Turn to Argentina as Iran War Disrupts Oil Supply Tsvetana Paraskova Mon, August 31, 2026 at 10:35 AM GMT+2 2 min read Asian crude oil importers, including China, Japan, and South Korea, have turned to buying oil from as far as Argentina to offset supply losses from the Middle East, anonymous traders with knowledge of the purchases told Bloomberg on Monday.     Refiners in Asia, which have relied on the Middle East for a large part of their term supplies before the Iran war, are now scouring the global crude oil market for alternative barrels that do not need to pass through the Strait of Hormuz or other geopolitical hotspots, or take a month longer to deliver from the Red Sea via the Mediterranean and the Cape of Good Hope in Africa. Argentina fits the bill, and some refiners in Asia have bought cargoes from the South American producer.

In recent weeks, refiners in Asia have bought Argentina's Medanito crude, and at least one cargo of the oil comparable to the U. S. West Texas Intermediate loaded earlier in August, according to Bloomberg's sources.

Medanito is being produced at the Vaca Muerta shale basin, the heart of Argentina's oil boom, where oil and gas production has been rising in recent years. Argentina's oil sales in Asia have jumped this year from 2025, and from no exports at all until 2024, according to Argentinian government data compiled by Bloomberg. Argentina's Medanito crude travels to Asia around South America and into the Pacific, without having to pass through any chokepoint or canal, such as the Panama Canal or the Suez Canal.

This chokepoint-free trade route has apparently raised the Asian appetite for Argentinian oil, which is also close to the U. S. WTI in quality, a grade that's also become more popular in Asia since the Iran war broke out.

Medanito is being sold at a discount of $1-$2 per barrel versus WTI, the trade sources told Bloomberg. Other South American producers, including Brazil and Venezuela , have also become popular among Asian refiners, who seek to minimize the risk of relying on Middle East oil too much. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.

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