The UAE energy ministry is selling 1.7 million barrels of Saudi Arab Light crude from the Gem No. 2, a tanker hit by an unidentified projectile last month, in a rare tender.
MoneyTurkey Commodities Desk | 10 November 2026
Key points
- The tender for 1.7 million barrels of Saudi Arab Light closed on Monday.
- The cargo is offered for loading between 10 and 20 November by ship-to-ship transfer inside the Gulf.
- The seller is the UAE Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure, under judicial supervision by the Federal Public Prosecution.
What happened
The UAE is selling the Saudi-origin oil still loaded on the Gem No. 2, according to a tender document seen by Reuters. Sources told Reuters the cargo is the one aboard the tanker struck last month. The UAE said last week that an oil leak from the vessel had been stopped.
The tender names the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure as seller, acting under judicial supervision by the UAE Federal Public Prosecution. That points to a court-supervised disposal of a stranded cargo rather than a normal commercial sale; the document does not say who owns the oil or why the sale is under prosecutor oversight.
Why it matters
One state selling another state’s crude is unusual in the Gulf, and the sale shows how the war is leaving damaged ships and cargoes stuck in local waters. Since the US-Israeli war with Iran began, attacks on commercial vessels in Gulf shipping lanes have raised security risks for tankers and fears of environmental damage, Reuters reported.
At 1.7 million barrels the cargo is small next to global supply, but a ship-to-ship transfer inside the Gulf gives buyers a test of how freely crude can be moved in the area right now.
What to watch
- Whether a buyer is named and the cargo loads in the 10 to 20 November window
- Any comment from Saudi Aramco or the UAE ministry on the sale
- Further attacks on tankers in Gulf shipping lanes
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For information only. Not investment advice.
