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Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC): oil import rules

These are the same rules the Regulatory Matrix API serves for Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC)-bound trade: which products private parties can move, which run through a government or monopoly route, and which are closed outright.

Open to private trade4
Restricted0
Blocked0

Compiled regulatory guidance from OilFlow Network, not legal advice. Rules change; confirm with the relevant national regulator before structuring a deal.

Product-by-product

Crude oilALLOWED
Allowed for private tradePetroleum trade allowed under DIFC Free Zone commercial license + UAE federal sanctions compliance. DIFC applies English common law in a financial-free-zone enclave. Major trading houses (Vitol, Mercuria, Gunvor desks), commodity banks, and energy-finance funds operate from DIFC. Dubai Mercantile Exchange (DME) Oman benchmark is the Asian sour-crude reference.
Refined products (diesel, fuel oil, gasoline, jet)ALLOWED
Allowed for private tradeStandard DIFC commercial license. DME also lists fuel oil and other refined contracts.
LPGALLOWED
Allowed for private tradeLicence required: difc_commercial_license.
LNGALLOWED
Allowed for private tradeLicence required: difc_commercial_license.

Frequently asked

Can private companies import crude oil into Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC)?
Petroleum trade allowed under DIFC Free Zone commercial license + UAE federal sanctions compliance. DIFC applies English common law in a financial-free-zone enclave. Major trading houses (Vitol, Mercuria, Gunvor desks), commodity banks, and energy-finance funds operate from DIFC. Dubai Mercantile Exchange (DME) Oman benchmark is the Asian sour-crude reference.
Are refined products (diesel, fuel oil, gasoline) tradeable by private importers in Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC)?
Standard DIFC commercial license. DME also lists fuel oil and other refined contracts.
Does OilFlow screen counterparties against Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) regulations?
Yes. The same rule table shown on this page ships in the Regulatory Matrix API; counterparty checks destined for Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) are gated against these rules automatically.

Use this jurisdiction

This rule table is one leg of every counterparty check we run: the tradability rule for the destination country fires alongside the fraud cluster match and the eight-list sanctions screen. Compliance teams that want to call /api/v1/regulatory/check from their own intake systems are scoped on a call, no list price. Screening a named counterparty into Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC)? Run the free check below. A Counterparty Screen is $95, ordered by email to [email protected]: machine output on one named counterparty inside the hour, marked DRAFT for review by independent legal counsel.

Screen a counterparty into Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC)

Paste the company or person name from the pitch. Free, no signup, answer in seconds. Vessels are not screened here.

Order on one named counterparty

Counterparty Screen$95

One name, delivered within the hour, marked DRAFT for review by independent legal counsel, no human read. PEP is not screened; adverse media is not swept.

Counterparty File$500

One named counterparty, the Screen's steps plus a named human's written read and signature, in your inbox by the end of the third business day or the fee is refunded in full.

Email [email protected] with the product and the counterparty name in the subject. An invoice comes back by reply. Both are prepaid by invoice or marketplace order; there is no card checkout.