Murban crude oil futures, which began trading on March 29, posted the highest trading volume on Wednesday, with a record 14,419 contracts swapped.
According to the Ice Futures Abu Dhabi exchange, where the contracts are traded, the volume of contracts is equivalent to 1,000 barrels each, and the trading volume on Tuesday is equal to almost 14.4 million barrels of Murban oil.
Murban Futures for June delivery fell 1.16% to $ 61.18 a barrel at 6:58 pm UAE time. The international Brent market fell 0.5% to $ 62.87 a barrel.
Last year, Adnoc moved from a retroactive pricing model to a forward pricing model as it sought to create a futures contract that allows oil from the emirate to become a freely tradable global commodity, filling trade and pricing gaps for oil from the Middle East. which is the largest supplier to the world energy markets.
“The scale of the market reaction to the launch of Murban futures is both reassuring and reassuring,” said Jamal Ulhaj, President of Ifad.
Murban, a premium grade, is a light sweet oil popular with Asian buyers who increasingly dominate the global oil trade. One million barrels of Murban oil per day is available for export. The UAE, which accounts for 4.2% of world oil production, is capable of producing 2 million barrels of murban per day.
A total of 38,712 contracts have been awarded at Murban’s price since launch on Ifad, a global marketplace of Abu Dhabi.
Alongside futures contracts, eighteen derivatives with Murban settlement and commodity spreads have also been launched, offering a wide range of trading and hedging options from Abu Dhabi’s flagship variety.
“The energy industry needed the ability to hedge the forward price risk of Murban oil, and we see participants from both the physical and financial side of the market coming together to shape bilateral pricing on a daily basis and contribute to the pricing process for Murban crude.” – said Mr. Ulhaj.
Of the contracts concluded so far, 4,510 are cash-settled derivatives in Murban, with 38 firms listed on the exchange since launch.
Futures are open for trading 24 hours a day on Mondays and 22 hours a day from Tuesday to Friday. Investors from jurisdictions including ADGM, USA, Singapore, UK, Switzerland, Netherlands, France, Norway, Australia, Japan and South Korea can trade on the exchange.
Abu Dhabi National Oil Company has set up Ice Futures Abu Dhabi with Intercontinental Exchange, the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, on the Abu Dhabi Global Market. Ifad is supported by several Adnoc trade and exploration partners. The Abu Dhabi grower provides greater transparency in the Murban trade, allowing market participants to have an idea of the available volumes of this variety within 12 months.
The contracts traded on the Abu Dhabi exchange will be cleared by Ice Clear Europe alongside global benchmarks such as Brent, West Texas Intermediate, Ice Platts Dubai and Ice Low Sulfur Gasoil.
Updated: April 8, 2021 9:26 PM
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