Platts, a leading provider of information and benchmark prices for the commodities and energy markets, will publish independent, outright price assessments for a range of oil products for the Middle East market on a free-on-board Fujairah basis starting October 3.

The new assessments are for gasoline, diesel/gasoil, jet fuel and fuel oil. They will be published alongside existing physical netback values for these products which derive their values from the price assessments at the regional trading hub of Singapore after adjusting for shipping costs.

Dave Ernsberger, global head of oil content, S&P Global Platts, said: "As the Middle East continues its diversification into producing and exporting refined oil products, market participants have identified a need for independent oil products price assessments based on the growing regional hub of Fujairah in addition to the existing and widely used Singapore netback prices."

The Middle East has seen substantial growth in refining and storage capacity, growth in physical oil trading and market participation. These factors have contributed to a vibrant and active spot physical market for oil products and a substantial increase in the over the counter trading of oil product derivatives, mainly for hedging purposes.

Platts will publish outright cash assessments, three monthly derivatives and the corresponding strip values for all four oil products. Cargoes loading from the following Gulf ports would be considered for inclusion in the assessments: Jubal, Jebel Ali, Mina Al Ahmadi, Quoin Island, Shuaiba, Ras Tanura, Ruwais, Mina Abdulla, Sohar, Bahrain, Fujairah, Ras Laffan and any safe and sound port within this geographic area.

The assessments would be normalised to loadings in Fujairah for all products, Platts said. - TradeArabia News Service