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Last week, one of our compliance team took a phone call from a procurement director in Lagos. He was
minutes away from wiring a reservation fee to release a Jet A1 cargo. The seller, he said, was ‘a real
allocation holder.’ His broker had confirmed it. The cargo was supposedly sitting at a terminal in Houston.
The price was 11% below screen.
We asked him one question.
He went quiet. He hung up. He called back two hours later and did not wire the money.
That question is at the bottom of this post. But first you need to understand the seven lies that nearly cost him
$400,000 in the first place. Because in 2026, people who absolutely know better are still repeating all of
them.
If you source EN590 10ppm ULSD, Jet A1, LPG, or fuel oil, print this out and keep it close. Losses to
fraudulent petroleum transactions still run into the billions every year. The pattern has not meaningfully
changed since 2018. Only the props have gotten more convincing.
Last week, one of our compliance team took a phone call from a procurement director in Lagos. He was
minutes away from wiring a reservation fee to release a Jet A1 cargo. The seller, he said, was ‘a real
allocation holder.’ His broker had confirmed it. The cargo was supposedly sitting at a terminal in Houston.
The price was 11% below screen.
We asked him one question.
He went quiet. He hung up. He called back two hours later and did not wire the money.
That question is at the bottom of this post. But first you need to understand the seven lies that nearly cost him
$400,000 in the first place. Because in 2026, people who absolutely know better are still repeating all of
them.
If you source EN590 10ppm ULSD, Jet A1, LPG, or fuel oil, print this out and keep it close. Losses to
fraudulent petroleum transactions still run into the billions every year. The pattern has not meaningfully
changed since 2018. Only the props have gotten more convincing.
LIE 1 — “This Is Refinery Direct”
This is the phrase that should make any procurement officer stop cold.
A real refinery does not sell barrels through a WhatsApp group. Refineries sell to integrated majors, term
offtakers, and a short list of vetted physical traders who already have prepaid storage, term financing, and a
commercial relationship with the refinery going back years. Everything downstream is allocations, term
contracts, and spot trading. None of it is accurately described as ‘refinery direct’ to a third party buyer.
When someone claims refinery direct access in 2026, they almost always mean one of three things: they
heard a rumor a refinery has a slot open; they are forwarding an SCO from someone they believe is closer to
the source; or they have no relationship to the refinery at all and are using the phrase as marketing.
The cleanest test: ask for the refinery’s commercial contact name and email. A real allocation holder will not
give it to you, but they will produce a Letter of Allocation, a CPA, monthly quota confirmation, and the
terminal TN number. If they cannot, ‘refinery direct’ is doing exactly what it was designed to do. It is drawing
your attention away from the absence of paperwork.
LIE 2 — “POP First, Then We’ll Talk About the LC”
This is the lie that costs the most money, because it sounds entirely reasonable to anyone who has not run a
physical fuel deal before.
The correct sequence in any real CIF or FOB transaction: ICPO, KYC, NCNDA/IMFPA, SCO, SPA, MT799
pre advice, Partial POP, MT760 LC, Full POP, shipment, SGS at discharge, MT103.
The LC comes before full POP for a reason that has nothing to do with tradition. The LC is a bank issued,
irrevocable instrument. It protects the seller from a buyer walking away after sensitive product data has been
disclosed. The sequence ensures both sides commit at exactly the same moment, through the bank.
Any seller who reverses this order is doing one of two things: showing forged POP documents to extract a
Bank Comfort Letter they can sell to the next target, or stalling while they hunt for product to match an SCO
they already issued. Neither version ends with cargo on a vessel.
LIE 3 — “Just Send a Bank Comfort Letter and We’re Good”
A Bank Comfort Letter is not a payment instrument. It is a polite confirmation from your bank that you are a
real company with the kind of facility that could support a transaction of a certain size. It binds absolutely
nothing.
Scammers love it for one reason. A BCL on bank letterhead can be doctored, monetized, or used as a prop
in the next deal. There are documented cases where forged BCLs were recycled across multiple buyers who
had no idea their bank’s name was attached to transactions they knew nothing about.
A real seller never asks for a BCL before issuing the SPA. They ask for Proof of Funds or a Ready Willing
and Able letter dated within seven days at the ICPO stage, and rely on the MT760 LC as the actual financial
commitment. According to the 2026 Petrolodex supplier playbook, 73% of global fuel buyers now reject
suppliers who cannot provide instant compliance verification.
LIE 4 — “Our Price Is $15 to $25 Below Platts Because of the Allocation”
The price screen is not a suggestion. It is a market.
Platts assessments are built from real reported trades, by real counterparties, at real terminals. When a deal
closes 5% below screen, someone is absorbing a loss, a tax position, or a hedging benefit. When a deal is
10% below screen, it is almost certainly not happening. When the discount is 15 to 25% below screen, you
are not looking at a deal. You are looking at bait.
A Jet A1 cargo of 60,000 metric tons priced 15% under screen represents roughly $7 to $9 million in claimed
savings. No allocation holder leaves that on the table for a buyer they have never worked with. They sell at
screen flat to a major they already know.
Using the April 2026 benchmark of $8.63 per gallon as your reference, anything quoted double digits off that
band is, at best, a bait and switch.
LIE 5 — “We Can Offer You D6 Virgin Fuel Oil”
There is no ASTM or ISO standard called ‘D6 virgin fuel oil.’ The label is a colloquial reference to a category
in the old ASTM D396 classification, which describes a heavy residual oil. Real spec sheets reference ISO
8217 (marine residual grades such as RMG 380), ASTM D396 No. 6, or specific refinery cuts.
Anyone selling ‘D6’ with an ASTM number on the SCO that does not match D396 is either copying a template
they do not understand, or counting on you not to notice.
The same pattern applies to ‘D2’ diesel offers when the actual product is automotive gas oil. A genuine
EN590 10ppm ULSD spec sheet references EN 590:2013+A1:2017 and includes the full distillation curve,
cetane index, sulphur content, and CFPP values. If those are missing, you are not looking at a real product
specification.
LIE 6 — “I Can Only Talk on WhatsApp / Telegram / Signal”
This is the single fastest fraud signal in 2026, and it has gotten worse since the Middle East supply
disruptions pushed more deals into back channel messaging.
Real fuel trading desks operate through corporate email on a verifiable domain. They have a SWIFT capable
bank account on file and an office address you can physically visit. They use WhatsApp for quick follow ups
once formal channels are established. They never use it as a substitute for those channels.
A seller who insists on handling the entire transaction through encrypted messaging is not protecting your
privacy. They are protecting their own deniability.
No corporate email means no deal. Free Gmail, personal Outlook, Proton Mail, and company domains
registered in the last 90 days all fail this test. Run any new contact through a WHOIS lookup before you reply
to the first message.
LIE 7 — “Just Sign This ICPO and We’ll Start the Process”
An ICPO is meant to be the buyer’s first formal commitment, but it should never be issued until basic supplier
KYC is complete.
The scam works like this. A seller pressures you to sign an ICPO immediately, citing allocation deadlines.
The ICPO contains your company details, banking coordinates, and a full legal commitment to buy a stated
volume at a stated price. Once signed, the seller either uses it as a prop in other deals or disappears and the
document resurfaces months later in a different scheme.
Do KYC on the seller first. Corporate documents, terminal confirmation, banking details, sanctions screening.
Then issue the ICPO. Any seller who will not provide their KYC package before asking you to commit is not
selling product. They are collecting credentials
The One Question That Exposes Every Scam in Under 60 Seconds
Can you give me the terminal name, the TN number for the lot, and the contact
information for the SGS inspector who completed the last quality and quantity
inspection on this cargo?
A real seller answers all three parts without pausing. The TN number is a public terminal identifier. Nothing
about it is confidential. The SGS quality and quantity certificate is a standard document that should not be
more than 72 hours old on an active lot. The terminal operator’s contact is publicly verifiable. Rotterdam,
Fujairah, Houston, and Singapore Jurong all publish operator contact information.
A fraudulent seller does one of three things when they hear this question: goes quiet, pivots to a different lot,
or gets aggressive about your ‘unprofessionalism.’ All three responses are confessions.
The procurement director in Lagos asked exactly this on his second call. The other side hung up.
That was an $11 million cargo and $400,000 in reservation fees saved by a single sentence.
What to Do If You Have an Offer Right Now
Run it through this seven point filter before you reply.
1. Is the contact using a corporate email on a domain you can verify with WHOIS?
2. Did they send their KYC before asking for yours, or did they request yours first?
3. Does the price sit within 5% of the current Platts screen for that grade and load port?
4. Does the spec sheet reference a real ISO, ASTM, or EN standard with the full parameter list?
5. Can they name the terminal, the TN number, and the SGS inspector from the last Q&Q; report?
6. Are they asking for MT760 LC and MT103 payment against clean SGS at discharge, or pushing for
advance fees, reservation fees, or BCLs?
7. Will they allow you to call the terminal operator directly to confirm storage?
If any single answer is no, stop responding and move on. Real cargoes load every week at Fujairah,
Rotterdam, Houston, and Singapore. You do not need to settle for an offer that cannot survive seven
straightforward questions.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the biggest red flag in a 2026 fuel offer?
A seller who asks for a Bank Comfort Letter, deposit, or advance fee before the SPA is signed and the LC
mechanism is in place. Real refineries and trading houses are paid through the MT760 LC, not through upfront
wire transfers.
Is it ever legitimate to buy refinery direct as a third party buyer?
No. Refineries sell to integrated majors, term off takers, and a small group of vetted physical traders. Anyone
claiming refinery direct access must produce a Letter of Allocation, CPA, monthly quota confirmation, and
terminal TN number. Without those documents, the phrase is a pitch.
What does a real Jet A1 or EN590 price look like in mid-2026?
Within roughly 5% of the published Platts screen for the relevant load port. Discounts of 10 to 25% below screen
are not negotiated deals. They are bait.
What is D6 fuel oil?
There is no ASTM or ISO standard by that name. Real residual fuel oil is sold as ISO 8217 marine grades (RMG
380 and similar) or ASTM D396 No. 6.
What is the safest payment structure for a fuel deal?
A transferable LC via SWIFT MT760, issued by a top 25 prime bank, with MT103 settlement within 48 hours of
clean SGS quality and quantity inspection at the discharge port.
How long does a legitimate fuel deal take from SCO to first delivery?
Three to five weeks for buyers with pre staged KYC and bank instruments. Six to eight weeks if banking needs to
be built from scratch. Any seller promising seven days is selling a story.
Where do I report a suspected fuel trading fraud?
For UAE-based fraud, contact the UAE Public Prosecution or Dubai Police eCrime portal at ecrime.ae. For
international wire fraud, file with your jurisdiction’s financial crimes unit and your bank’s fraud desk. Save every
message, document, and wire instruction as evidence.
The Bottom Line
The fuel trading scam playbook in 2026 is not new. Only the props have changed. WhatsApp instead of fax.
‘Refinery direct’ instead of ‘exclusive mandate.’ $8 per gallon Jet A1 instead of $3. These seven lies have
been circulating since the early 2010s and they will still be circulating in 2030, because they work just often
enough on buyers who have not seen them before.
The defense is procedural. Slow down, ask the seven questions, and accept that any seller who cannot
survive them was never going to put cargo on a vessel.
Sourcing EN590 10ppm ULSD or Jet A1 into Africa, Latin America, or Asia Pacific?
Send your offer to info@petrolodex.com before you reply. We will tell you whether it survives the seven
questions above.
