The Middle East is launching a new oil benchmark to rival WTI and Brent

[Tom Kirkman + 8,860]

Good luck with that.  Another attempt by Middle East to nudge back to bigger relevance by roping in non-OPEC partners to prop it up.  Success appears unlikely. 

The Middle East is launching a new oil benchmark to rival WTI and Brent

The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) and nine of the world's largest energy traders have partnered with the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) to set up the world's first Murban crude oil futures contracts.

ICE Futures Abu Dhabi (IFAD) and ICE Murban futures are slated for launch in early 2020, subject to regulatory approvals, and will seek to rival well-established light crude oil benchmarks WTI and Brent.

Among the companies joining state-owned Adnoc, which produces around 1.7 million barrels of Murban crude daily, to take stakes in the new oil bourse are energy behemoths BP, Shell, Total, PetroChina and Vitol.  ...

 

=========================

Earlier, in July:

UAE Looks To Launch New Regional Oil Benchmark

The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), which pumps most of the crude oil of OPEC’s third-largest producer, the UAE, plans to launch its own oil benchmark for the region, possibly as soon as November, as part of an effort to boost its regional influence and bolster its oil trading business, Reuters reported on Tuesday, quoting four sources with knowledge of the plans.

The oil benchmark idea is part of an ADNOC plan to overhaul its oil trading business and gain more pricing influence for its oil sales. The company hasn’t finalized the plans yet, but once it does, these plans would need approval from the UAE’s authorities, according to Reuters’ sources.  ...

 

[canadas canadas + 136]

It looks like a sour crude benchmark.  I have read that some are promoting this crude as light sweet but it is light (40.2 API) and sour (0.79% sulfur).

Edited November 13, 2019 by canadas canadas