LNG

Intercontinental Exchange, the leading global provider of trading platforms and clearing, said US bank Morgan Stanley and Co. had become the latest Exchange and Clearing member for ICE’s newest exchange, the ICE Futures Abu Dhabi (IFAD) platform in the United Arab Emirates.

The IFAD membership now stands at a total of 29 firms and banks, listed at the end.

IFAD launched trading at the end of March 2021 in ICE Murban Crude Oil Futures and 18 Murban-related cash settled derivatives and inter-commodity spreads, offering the market a broad range of ways to trade and hedge Murban crude oil.

Contracts traded on IFAD are cleared at ICE Clear Europe where they are cleared alongside ICE’s global energy futures platform covering oil, natural gas and the environmental complex, allowing customers to benefit from critical margin offsets to enhance capital efficiency.

Produced by Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. (ADNOC), Murban is the UAE’s largest crude by volume, with daily production capacity of up to 2 million barrels.

IFAD saw record open interest of 53,515 contracts on May 18, with 48,440 of that total in the ICE Murban Crude Oil futures contract.

A total of 282,692 contracts have traded since the launch, equivalent to 282 million barrels of Murban Crude oil.

This includes 275,507 ICE Murban Crude Oil futures contracts and 7,185 Murban-related cash settled derivatives, with 55 firms having traded on IFAD since the launch.
Average Daily Volume in Murban Crude Oil Futures is 7,210 contracts.

“All the key metrics you look for to judge the traction of a new benchmark in the market - volumes, open interest, number and range of participants, and the depth of the curve - are all increasing,” said Jamal Oulhadj, President of ICE Futures Abu Dhabi.

“This really reflects how the energy industry is utilizing its new ability to hedge forward price risk for Murban crude and contribute to the price formation process of Murban crude oil,” Oulhadj explained.

In addition to producing Murban crude, ADNOC is a growing natural developer, including unconventional gas projects as well as operating the liquefaction and LNG export plant on Das Island.

The pioneering Das Island plant shipped its first cargo in 1977 and produces about 6 million tonnes per annum of LNG as the oldest in the Arab world after Algeria’s Arzew plant.

The plant’s LNG Trains are essential parts of the national resources for storage and export operations and is currently the subject of a rejuvenation programme.
IFAD has 29 Exchange members and 22 Clearing members.

Clearing members stand behind all trades made through IFAD and cleared by ICE Clear Europe, whether it is for the account of a customer, member or their own account.

Murban futures are open for trading for 24 hours a day on Mondays and 22 hours a day Tuesdays to Fridays, with investors from jurisdictions including Abu Dhabi, the US, Singapore, the UK, Switzerland, the Netherlands, France, Norway, Australia, Japan and South Korea, able to trade on IFAD.

The 29 members are: ABN AMRO Clearing Bank; ABN AMRO Clearing Chicago LLC; ADM Investor Services International Ltd; ADM Investor Services; Advantage Futures; BNP Paribas; Banco Santander; Citigroup Global Markets; G.H. Financials Ltd; Goldman Sachs and Co; Goldman Sachs International; HSBC Bank Plc; J.P. Morgan Securities; Marex Financial; Mercuria International; Mizuho Securities USA; Morgan Stanley & Co.; Onyx Commodities Ltd; PVM Oil Futures Ltd; PVM Oil Futures Pte Ltd; Phillip Capital; R.J. O'Brien & Associates; Societe Generale International; StoneX Financial; TP ICAP Markets Ltd; Tower Research Capital Europe; Tullett Prebon (Europe) Ltd; Vercer Capital Markets Trading Ltd; Wedbush Securities.

Intercontinental Exchange, the leading operator of global energy derivative exchanges and clearing houses, said the launch of the world’s newest oil futures contract for liquefied natural exporter Abu Dhabi is on track for a March 29 debut.

Intercontinental Exchange, the leading operator of global energy derivative exchanges and clearing houses, is planning to launch its oil future contract for liquefied natural exporter Abu Dhabi on March 29, backed by leading LNG sector players.

The exchange said that that trading on the ICE Murban Crude Oil Futures (IFAN) is going ahead subject to the completion of regulatory approvals

The IFAN futures debut in the markets had been delayed in 2020 by the market oil market slump and the Covid-19 pandemic.

“We are making good progress on securing the regulatory approvals necessary for launch. We have received approval from the Bank of England for ICE Clear Europe to clear contracts traded on IFAD and IFAD is now a Recognized Market Operator by the Monetary Authority of Singapore,” explained Jamal Oulhadj, President of ICE Futures in Abu Dhabi.

“We believe that the combination of our partners, ICE’s extensive global energy network and customer base, and the capital efficiencies created by clearing Murban alongside Brent, West Texas Intermediate, and Dubai, mean that Murban futures should have a deep base of support as the market uses the futures to buy, sell and hedge Murban crude,” added Oulhadj.

The Murban Crude Oil Future is a physically delivered contract, basis free-onboard (FOB) cargo at the Fujairah loading terminal in the UAE.

The contract will provide users with an effective hedging instrument for Arab Gulf crude oil and other grades of trading into the Asia-Pacific region.

Abu Dhabi also produces LNG as well as oil for the United Arab Emirates and is aiming to increase its natural gas resources by investing more in exploration and production in the next few years.

It currently produces around 5.8 million tonnes per annum of LNG at the Das Island liquefaction plant off Abu Dhabi.

In addition to the approvals from the Bank of England and Monetary Authority of Singapore, ICE Futures Abu Dhabi said it had completed the relevant regulatory processes or analysis required to permit direct access to IFAD from a range of jurisdictions including Abu Dhabi Global Market, the United States, Switzerland, the Netherlands, France, Norway, Australia, Japan and South Korea.

Contracts traded at IFAD will be cleared at ICE Clear Europe, a leading energy clearing house, and will clear alongside ICE’s global energy futures platform covering oil, natural gas and the environmental complex, allowing customers to benefit from associated margin offsets.

Inpex Corp., the Japanese oil and gas company with stakes in major LNG export plants and projects such as Ichthys and Prelude FLNG in Australia and Abadi LNG in Indonesia, is one of the companies that IFAD venture.

The other energy companies joining the launch of IFAD include Royal Dutch Shell, BP of the UK, PetroChina, Total, PTT of Thailand, Japan’s JXTG Nippon Oil & Energy and the international commodities traders Vitol.