Oman crude oil solid at strong premium

Muscat: Oman’s Ministry of Oil and Gas (MOG) sold a cargo of Oman blend crude via DME Auctions, achieving a strong premium above the official selling price, which reflects the current strength of the Middle East crude oil market, particularly in Oman.
The two million-barrel cargo of November-loading Oman blend crude was awarded at a premium of $0.18 per barrel over the November OSP. The DME Auction platform saw 16 participants take part in the auction with 29 active bids placed during the two minutes. The Oman OSP is calculated on a volume-weighted average of daily DME Oman Crude Oil (OQD) Marker Prices over the month.
Raid Al-Salami, Managing Director, DME, said: “The continuous success of DME auctions underlines the need for a robust and transparent mechanism to buy and sell spot cargoes. The platform has auctioned 39.6 million Barrels from four different grades including Oman Crude Oil, Basrah Light, Basrah Heavy and Kimanis and generated premiums of $17.3 million above the official selling price.”
DME is the premier international energy futures and commodities exchange in the Middle East. It aims to provide oil producers, traders and consumers engaged in the East of Suez markets with transparent pricing of crude oil.
Launched in 2007, DME has rapidly grown into a globally relevant exchange. Its flagship Oman Crude Oil Futures Contract (DME Oman) contract is now firmly established as the most credible crude oil benchmark relevant to the rapidly growing East of Suez market. Reflecting the economics of the Asian region like no other contract, and the largest physically delivered crude oil futures contract in the world, DME Oman is the world’s third crude oil benchmark and the sole benchmark for Oman and Dubai exported crude oil.
DME is a fully electronic exchange, with regulatory permissions allowing access from more than 20 jurisdictions, including the major financial centres of Asia, Europe and the United States. The exchange is located within the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), a financial free zone designed to promote financial services within the UAE. The DME is regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority and all trades executed on the DME are cleared through and guaranteed by CME Clearing.
DME 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.