Dubai Mercantile Exchange (DME) has announced the launch of eight new oil listings following completion of the regulatory review.

A premier international energy futures and commodities exchange in the Middle East region, DME aims to provide oil producers, traders and consumers engaged in the East of Suez markets with transparent pricing of crude oil.

Among the new products offered by DME is the Oman Crude Oil/Platts Dubai Crude Oil Futures contract (code DOP) which helps customers match their hedging exposure for crude from Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest exporter of crude oil.

Saudi Aramco recently announced it is changing the way it calculates its Official Selling Price (OSPs) from 1 October, 2018, which will take the monthly average of DME Oman and Platts Dubai - creating a hybrid between the two major Asia benchmarks, said a statement from DME.

To complement the new crude oil hedging tool, DME is also listing the Oman/Dubai contract as a spread versus Brent futures and Asian refined products, it stated.

DME Chairman Ahmad Sharaf said: "The new listings are the next step in the natural evolution of the DME and exchange-traded products across the Asian markets, helping customers to hedge physical pricing exposure on both crude oil and refined products."

The new listings will complement DME’s current suite of products, which includes the flagship Oman Futures contract, along with Dubai and Brent/Dubai futures, he added.  

Launched in 2007, DME has rapidly grown into a globally relevant exchange. Its flagship Oman Crude Oil Futures Contract is now firmly established as the most credible crude oil benchmark relevant to the rapidly growing East of Suez market.

It is a joint venture between Dubai Holding, Oman Investment Fund and CME Group. Global financial institutions and energy trading firms including Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, Shell, Vitol and Concord Energy also hold equity stakes in the DME.-TradeArabia News Service