LNG

April 19 (LNGJ) - Intercontinental Exchange, the leading global provider of energy trading platforms for LNG, oil and other commodities and indices, reported record trading activity in Murban crude as ICE Futures Abu Dhabi (IFAD) marked its third anniversary. IFAD and ICE’s Murban futures market was launched in March 2021 with the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and nine of the world’s largest energy traders as founding partners.

   ICE said that in the first quarter of 2024, the Murban futures market hit record traded volume of over 1.1 million contracts and in March reached record average daily volume of 21,454 contracts, up 152 percent year-over-year. On April 15, 2024, Murban futures hit a single day volume record with 36,464 contracts traded. “Three years on from launch, we, together with ADNOC and our partners, have built a truly global Murban futures market which sits alongside benchmark crude grades Brent and Midland WTI,” said Gary King, President of ICE Futures Abu Dhabi.

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), the oldest LNG producer in the Middle East, has marked the first anniversary since the launch of ICE Futures Abu Dhabi (IFAD) platform and ICE Murban Crude Oil futures in a time when the price of oil has doubled and just fallen back slightly.

Intercontinental Exchange, the leading global provider of market trading platforms, said a total of over one million futures contracts have traded on the ICE Futures Abu Dhabi (IFAD) exchange since to was launched at the end of March 2021.

ICE said the trading volume was equivalent of one billion barrels of Murban crude oil, a new Middle East pricing benchmark.

The development of the Murban crude market in the United Arab Emirates comes as ICE has also reported record trading in the global natural gas complex, including the European Dutch Title Transfer facility (TTF), the US Henry Hub and products linked to the Japan-Korea Marker LNG spot cargo price.

ICE said that total Murban Crude Oil futures traded on IFAD since the launch is 1,047,829 contracts.

The total comprises 1,029,770 Murban Crude Oil futures contracts and 18,059 cash settled derivatives.

IFAD now has more than 30 exchange members and clearing members including major global brokerages and investment banks.

Contracts traded on the IFAD exchange are cleared through ICE Clear Europe alongside ICE’s global energy futures platform.

Takayuki Ueda, President and Chief Executive of Inpex Corp of Japan, a shareholder in Australian LNG, said the company was resolute on helping IFAD progress.

Members

“Through IFAD, we continue to be committed to contributing to the development of the futures market exchange while working more closely with ICE, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company and our partners to further improve the market for Murban crude,” Ueda declared.

Thomas Waymel, President of France’s TotalEnergies Trading SA, said that as an IFAD shareholder and active participant, the company was proud to contribute to advancing IFAD, which helps create more transparent Asian markets.

“The liquidity that IFAD is providing to the market is greatly appreciated and thanks to Murban’s sustainable production, wide customer base and excellent logistical capabilities, we are confident that further success is ahead,” stated Waymel.

Mike Muller, the Asian head of the Vitol global commodities firm, agreed that Murban futures were adding to price discovery in Asia and thus enhancing the functioning of both regional and international markets.

“Moreover, the physical delivery mechanism has worked smoothly over the first 7 months since launch and open interest continues to grow,” added Muller.

“Given this encouraging start, we are confident that the IFAD Murban futures contract will make many more headlines as it continues to grow in importance,” stated the Vitol executive.

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, has launch its oil future contract for liquefied natural exporter Abu Dhabi and a total of 8,854 cleared lots were traded on the first day.

The start of trading of the ICE Murban Crude Oil Futures (IFAN) had been delayed from 2020 by the market oil market slump and the Covid-19 pandemic.

ICE Murban Crude Oil Futures opened for trading alongside 18 Murban-related cash settled derivatives and inter-commodity spreads, offering the market the broadest range of ways to trade and hedge Murban crude.

Market activity on ICE Futures Abu Dhabi on the first day of trading included 6,344 ICE Murban Crude Oil futures contracts and 2,510 Murban related cash settled derivative contracts.

A total of 27 firms traded on day one of the launch.

Of the cash settled derivatives, 2,500 lots of Murban Singapore Marker 1st Line futures and 10 lots of Murban 1st Line vs Brent 1st Line futures contracts traded.

“The depth of market activity on our first day of trading is extremely encouraging,” said Jamal Oulhadj, President of ICE Futures Abu Dhabi.

“On the first day of launch we saw active trading, consistently tight bid offer spreads, a high number of participants from both the physical and financial sides of the market, and liquidity out for the first six months of the curve,” added Oulhadj.

“The mix of trading across the Murban futures contract and the cash settled derivatives reflects how our customers are already beginning to utilize the extensive range of tools we offer to trade and hedge Murban crude price exposure,” he stated.

ICE points out that 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 the Abu Dhabi Global Market, the US, Singapore, the UK, Switzerland, the Netherlands, France, Norway, Australia, Japan and South Korea, able to trade on IFAD.

IFAD has 26 Exchange Members and 19 Clearing Members, who are listed in full on IFAD’s membership page.

“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,” explained ICE.

Oct 13 (LNGJ) - Intercontinental Exchange, a leading operator of global exchanges and clearing houses and provider of energy data for LNG and natural gas prices and futures, has provided an update on its plans to launch ICE Futures Abu Dhabi (IFAD), the world’s first futures contracts based on Murban crude oil from the United Arab Emirates. “Subject to the completion of regulatory approvals, ICE plans to launch IFAD and trading in Murban futures contracts late in the first quarter of 2021. A more specific date for the launch of trading will be announced in due course,” stated the Atlanta, Georgia-based company.

   In November 2019, ICE announced its plans to launch IFAD, with the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company and nine of the world’s largest energy traders partnering with ICE on the launch. ICE Murban Futures will be a physically delivered contract with delivery at Fujairah in the UAE on a free-on-board (FOB) basis. ICE Murban Futures will be complemented with a range of 18 cash-settled derivatives which IFAD plans to launch for day one of trading.

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, said it was joining the new ICE Futures Abu Dhabi (IFAD) venture backed by Intercontinental Exchange Inc. of the US as part of continuing efforts to balance portfolio risk.