Activities
The book
Crude, middle distillates, naphtha and LPG. Full-vessel parcels. Principal-to-principal.
The firm trades full-vessel parcels of crude, middle distillates, naphtha and LPG on its own balance sheet, principal-to-principal, across the East–West corridors.
Crude
Spot cargoes of light sweet and medium sour grades — West African and Atlantic Basin barrels, and the freely traded Middle East grades: Murban, Upper Zakum, Oman and Al-Shaheen — placed with Indian refiners and Chinese independent refiners, back-to-back. Priced against Dated Brent and Platts Dubai / DME Oman.
Middle distillates
10ppm gasoil (ULSD) and Jet A-1 in MR and LR parcels, sourced from Gulf and Indian refiners and, on a spot basis, from the trading arms of Chinese quota holders. Placed in Singapore and East Africa, and into Northwest Europe and the Mediterranean when the East–West spread pays. Priced against Platts FOB Singapore (gasoil 10ppm, jet kero), Platts FOB Arab Gulf and ICE Low Sulphur Gasoil.
Naphtha
Open-spec and full-range naphtha from Gulf, Mediterranean and Atlantic Basin sellers: paraffinic open-spec grades as cracker feed for Japan, Korea, Taiwan, China and India; full-range and heavier cuts for reformers and blenders, into Asia and Northwest Europe. Priced against MOPJ (C+F Japan) and Platts CIF NWE, with the East–West spread deciding direction.
LPG
Propane and butane. Fully refrigerated cargoes from Gulf sellers into Asia, where propane dehydrogenation (PDH) plants and crackers set demand; semi-refrigerated and pressurised parcels from North Sea and Mediterranean sellers into European importers, with winter heating demand setting the window. Priced against Saudi Aramco CP, the Argus Far East Index and CIF ARA propane.
The desk works against published Platts and Argus benchmarks, on FOB, CFR, CIF and DAP (DES) terms, with independent inspection at load and discharge.
Global Flow
The East–West corridors.
One office in Hong Kong. Crude from West Africa and the Gulf into India and China; middle distillates from the Gulf, India and China into Singapore, East Africa and Europe; naphtha and LPG into the crackers of Asia and Northwest Europe.
Strategic Position
Hong Kong as the base. Counterparty reach across the basins we trade.
Hong Kong is the base, and the only office. It sits between Chinese demand and the Singapore pricing complex, in a banking and legal jurisdiction of international standing. The choice was functional rather than symbolic, and it has held up.
Beyond that office, Matrix maintains counterparty relationships and operational coverage across West Africa and the Atlantic Basin, the Arabian Gulf, India, China, Singapore, East Africa, Northwest Europe and the Mediterranean. The firm's footprint is measured by counterparty access and execution.
The structural position is bilateral. Matrix supplies into China and lifts out of China, delivering into refineries and placing product as the spread dictates. We are comfortable on either side of the cargo.