CRUDE MOC: Second Murban cargo of the month declared

Singapore — A cargo of Murban crude was declared on a convergence of Dubai partials on the Platts Market on Close assessment process Monday, the second this month but the first for June Dubai partials traded in the Platts MOC.

Seller BP declared the June-loading clip of Murban to buyer Chevron, when the number of June Dubai partials that changed hands between the two touched 20 during the MOC. The 20th partial had Chevron buying an offer by BP at $18/b.

Earlier this month, a similar June Murban cargo was declared on a convergence of June Oman partials. That cargo was declared by Unipec to Total upon the exchange of 20 June Oman partials between the two.

So far in April, both convergences have seen Murban cargoes declared on trades of Dubai and Oman partials. The spread between June cash Dubai and Oman has averaged 5 cents/b to date in April, S&P Global Platts data showed.

Altogether, a total 151 partials have changed hands in the MOC this month, with 118 Dubai and 33 Oman.

For Dubai partials, the seller has the option to deliver a Dubai, Oman, Upper Zakum, Al-Shaheen or, with a quality premium, Murban cargo to the buyer.

The quality premium for June loading Murban declared in the MOC was set at 63.76 cents/b, and is payable by the buyer to the seller upon declaration.

Effective April 1, 2020, S&P Global Platts has raised the minimum threshold for the quality premium to 50 cents/b from 25 cents/b, which is set at 60% of the net price difference between Platts front-month cash Murban assessment and Platts front-month cash Oman assessment during the full month before the announcement.

The higher minimum threshold will mean that a QP of zero will be announced if 60% of the observed price difference between the Platts Murban and Oman assessments during the previous month is less than 50 cents/b.

Murban, one of the basket of five grades deliverable into Dubai partials, is also deliverable into Oman, Al-Shaheen and Upper Zakum partials that are tradeable on the Platts Crude MOC in Asia.

It was declared for the first time ever on any grade in the MOC in August 2018, when Total as the seller declared the grade to Shell, on the completion of 20 Oman partial trades.