Platts will add Al-Shaheen, Murban crude to Mideast benchmarks from Jan
SINGAPORE, November 18, 2015
Oil pricing agency Platts said on Wednesday it will add Qatar's Al Shaheen and Abu Dhabi's Murban crude to its Dubai and Oman benchmarks from January 2016 to boost the liquidity of its price assessment process.
Murban crude can be delivered in its Dubai and Oman benchmarks and al-Shaheen crude will be included in the Dubai basket, it said in a subscriber note. The changes will take effect on Jan. 4, 2016.
"There has been strong support for adding these alternative delivery crudes promptly, to ensure significant volumes of crude for delivery continue to underpin the Dubai and Oman benchmarks through 2016 and beyond," Platts said in a subscriber note.
Platts will continue to review the potential inclusion of a quality premium for Murban, it said.
The Dubai and Oman benchmarks as assessed by Platts are used to price more than 12 million barrels per day of Middle Eastern and Russian crude exported to Asia.
Platts, part of McGraw Hill Financial, competes with Thomson Reuters in providing information to energy markets. --Reuters
