UAE, Kuwait ship 1.6 million tons of naphtha around Hormuz

Summary

• Gulf producers moved 1.6 million tons of naphtha to Asia via ship-to-ship transfers outside Hormuz
• Volumes more than doubled from the 700,000-ton trough during the March-April US-Iran war disruption
• Asian crackers in Korea and Japan lifted run rates above 70% as supply returned

The latest

Gulf naphtha is reaching Asian buyers again by bypassing the Strait of Hormuz altogether. ADNOC and Kuwait Petroleum Corporation shipped roughly 1.6 million metric tons, about 14 million barrels, in August and September through ship-to-ship transfers beyond the waterway, sources told Reuters. That is more than double the volume moved in March and April, when the US-Iran war choked trade flows.

Details

• The workaround: ADNOC Maritime International Chartering loaded about 1.5 million tons of naphtha onto 25 tankers across August and September, according to sources cited by Reuters. The cargoes were transferred ship-to-ship off Sohar in Oman, a point outside the Strait of Hormuz, allowing buyers to avoid sending vessels through the waterway.
• The comparison: Kpler data show the two companies shipped roughly 5 million tons combined in August and September 2025. This year's 1.6 million tons leaves the trade well below pre-war levels, even as it recovers sharply from the March-April floor of about 700,000 tons.
• Kuwait lags: KPC moved only three cargoes totaling about 180,000 tons, a fraction of the Emirati volume. Sources told Reuters the UAE is far ahead of both Kuwait and Qatar in restoring naphtha exports to Asian buyers.
• Kuwait's pricing: KPC resumed spot naphtha offers to Japan in late June after halting them for three months, according to sources cited by Reuters. Cargoes loading in early September sold at a premium of up to $45 a ton over Japanese benchmarks, indicating buyers were willing to pay up for supply cleared of transit risk.
• Qatar's discount: QatarEnergy is the slowest to recover, held back by a shortage of tankers. It sold a cargo last month at a discount of roughly $100 a ton to Japanese benchmarks after buyers refused to pay a risk premium on ships transiting the war-affected strait, sources told Reuters.
• Inside the strait: QatarEnergy offered up to 75,000 tons last week for loading from Ras Laffan, a terminal located inside the Strait of Hormuz. The offer underlines that Doha has not built the ship-to-ship capability its Emirati counterpart has deployed off Oman.
• Buyers respond: Naphtha crackers in South Korea and Japan held utilization rates above 70% in August and September, up from about 68% during the March-April disruption, according to Reuters. Naphtha is the primary feedstock for petrochemical crackers producing plastics and industrial chemicals.
• Thailand restarts: SCG Chemicals restarted its cracker unit at Rayong on September 17 after six months of forced shutdown. The company bought naphtha on the spot market to feed the restart, including cargoes originating from the UAE.

Background

The Strait of Hormuz carries a large share of Gulf energy exports. The March-April US-Iran war disrupted flows through the waterway, pushing shipowners to demand risk premiums and forcing Gulf producers to halt or reroute naphtha sales to Asian petrochemical buyers.

Between the lines

The price gap tells the story of who prepared. Kuwait collected up to $45 a ton over benchmarks while Qatar conceded about $100 a ton below them, a spread driven less by product quality than by delivery point. ADNOC's 25-tanker transfer operation off Sohar converted a logistics investment into pricing power, while QatarEnergy's tanker shortage left it selling from inside the strait at a discount.

What's next

Watch whether QatarEnergy secures additional tankers to build out ship-to-ship capacity, whether KPC scales beyond three cargoes in October, and whether Korean and Japanese cracker run rates climb back toward pre-war levels.

Source: Reuters, Kpler