Argus Media

Argus
TypePrivate
IndustryCommodities, Energy
Founded1970 (1970)
FounderJan Nasmyth
Headquarters
London
,
United Kingdom
Area served
Worldwide
ProductsPrice assessments, market data, analytics, news, conferences
Number of employees
1,500
Websitewww.argusmedia.com

Argus (formerly known as Petroleum Argus Ltd) is a privately held provider of energy and commodities information, headquartered in London. The company publishes daily price assessments in physical commodity markets.

Overview

Argus is a privately held UK-registered company which publishes news, price assessments, data, analytics and consulting services of international energy and other commodity markets. It also offers conferences.

Argus was the first price-reporting agency to apply the IOSCO Principles for Oil Price Reporting Agencies in 2013, and subsequently roll them out to cover the other energy and commodity markets it covers. Argus retains the services of a leading accounting firm to undertake an annual independent assurance review to verify adherence to the Principles.

Argus was owned by the family of its founder Jan Nasmyth and its senior staff, but in September 2016 a majority-stake was sold to the equity firm General Atlantic valuing the company at $1.4 billion. The company’s ownership structure was updated in 2024 when Chairman and Chief Executive, Adrian Binks became majority owner and General Atlantic consolidated its stake

Argus's headquarters are in London, with major offices in Houston, Dubai, Singapore, Paris, Seoul, Amsterdam, Hamburg, Riga, Kyiv, Astana, Calgary, San Francisco, Mexico City, Washington DC, Pittsburgh, New York, São Paulo, Tokyo, Shanghai, Beijing, Mumbai, Sydney, Granada, Brussels, Lagos, and Cape Town.

Prices assessed by Argus for energy, fertilizer, metals, chemicals and agriculture markets are widely used as benchmarks to settle futures contracts and as indexes for short or long term physical supply contracts.

History

Argus was established in 1970 by former Daily Telegraph journalist Jan Nasmyth. In 1985, the company opened offices in Singapore and Houston. It began covering European gas and power markets in 1995, and added coal and biofuels in the early 2000s.

The company has acquired numerous companies across commodity markets over its history:

YearCompanyMarket
2011FMB ConsultantsFertilizers
2012DeWitt & CoUS petrochemicals
2012FundalyticsEuropean power and gas
2013TABrewer ConsultingPetrochemicals
2013Jim Jordan & AssociatesPetrochemicals
2015MetalPrices.comSpeciality metals and rare earths
2018Integer ResearchMarket intelligence and conferences[citation needed]
2019O.M.R.German oil reporting
2020AgritelFrench agricultural intelligence
2021Oleochem AnalyticsRenewable chemicals[citation needed]
2022Pipe LogixUS pipe and tube market[citation needed]
2023MercarisUS organic and non-GMO commodities

Awards

Argus won the Queen's Award for Enterprise: International Trade (Export) in the UK in 2002, 2009 and 2015.

References

  1. ↑ "About us". Argus. Retrieved 16 March 2026.
  2. 1 2 "ARGUS MEDIA LIMITED - Overview (free company information from Companies House)". beta.companieshouse.gov.uk. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  3. ↑ "Fixing the fix". The Economist. 10 February 2014. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
  4. 1 2 "Argus company scooped up by General Atlantic". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 11 December 2022. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
  5. ↑ "General Atlantic Agrees to Buy Majority Stake in Argus". Bloomberg.com. 23 May 2016. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
  6. ↑ Levingston, Ivan; Massoudi, Arash; Mnyanda, Lukanyo (22 January 2024). "Argus Media head becomes majority owner as Hg sells stake". Financial Times. Retrieved 10 February 2026.
  7. ↑ "Contact Us | Argus Media". www.argusmedia.com. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  8. ↑ "Jan Nasmyth: nonconformist oil industry journalist". The Times. 26 September 2008. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
  9. ↑ "Family owners of Argus in line for £500m payout from sale". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
  10. 1 2 3 Johnson, Owain (9 August 2017). The Price Reporters: A Guide to PRAs and Commodity Benchmarks (1st ed.). ISBN 9781351760553.
  11. ↑ "Argus buys DeWitt to expand energy data-reporting". 13 WTHR Indianapolis. 16 July 2012. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
  12. ↑ "Argus today announced the acquisition of Fundalytics". Media Mergers. 8 February 2012. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
  13. ↑ "Argus acquires TABrewer Consulting". Digital Refining. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
  14. ↑ "Argus". Fast Track. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
  15. ↑ "Argus buys German oil reporting specialist O.M.R." Argus Media.
  16. ↑ "Argus acquires agricultural specialist Agritel". Argus Media.
  17. ↑ "Argus acquires US sustainable agriculture pricing provider, Mercaris". Argus Media. Retrieved 12 February 2026.
  18. ↑ "The Queen's Awards for Enterprise 2002: International Trade, Innovation, and Sustainable Development". The London Gazette. 56544, Supplement No. 1: 1. 21 April 2002 – via The Gazette.
  19. ↑ "International Trade « Award Category «". queensawardsmagazine.com. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
  20. ↑ "The Queen's Awards for Enterprise 2009" (PDF). The London Gazette. 59039, Supplement No. 1: 1. April 2009 – via The Gazette.
  21. ↑ "2015 Press Book" (PDF). The Queen's Award for Enterprise. April 2015 – via Gov.uk.
  22. ↑ "The Queen's Awards for Enterprise 2015". The London Gazette. 61204, Supplement No. 1: 3. April 2015 – via The Gazette.