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.

Singapore LNG cargo indices, including North Asia and Dubai-Kuwait-India shipments, were steady for deliveries through December as January cargo quotes made an appearance at a high of $11.500 per MMBtu as the oil market retreated under $80 per barrel.

China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC), the oil and gas company and LNG terminal owner, said it planned to conduct a liquefied natural gas cargo auction on April 18 on the Shanghai Petroleum and Gas Exchange as the region still awaits the emergence of a single benchmark price.

The Singapore LNG cargo index for April averaged US$8.214 per million British thermal units compared with over US$9.500 in the first half of March as demand receded from winter highs in Japan, China and South Korea.

Singapore LNG cargo indices for March were in the US$10.049 per million British thermal units to US$10.457 per MMBtu range, down by an average 7.8 percent from last month.

Singapore LNG cargo indexes for March were in the US$9.589 per million British thermal units to US$10.134 per MMBtu range before declining on entering the seasonal phase through the second half of April for spot market cargoes as well as for North East Asian and Dubai-Kuwait-India shipments.

Singapore LNG cargo indexes for March were in the solid US$9.90 per million British thermal units to US$10.337 per MMBtu range before declining in April for spot market cargoes as well as North East Asia and for Dubai-Kuwait-India shipments.

The Singapore Exchange (SGX) said it cleared the first futures contract for liquefied natural gas delivered into the Dubai, Kuwait and India (DKI) index market at a price of US$9.85 per million British thermal units.

The Singapore Exchange (SGX) has formally started trading a new liquefied natural gas futures contract for LNG delivered to Dubai, Kuwait and India and based on a twice-weekly  LNG price assessment.

Tullett Prebon, one of the world’s leading interdealer brokers, has formally launched a spot pricing index for Middle East and Indian liquefied natural gas market shipments in collaboration with the Singapore Exchange.