25 Feb 2015 | 05:21 UTC — Houston

SUBSCRIBER NOTE: Platts to change spec reflected in USG MTBE assessment April 1

Platts will change the specifications of methyl tertiary butyl ether, MTBE, reflected in its FOB US Gulf daily assessment effective April 1, 2015. Platts currently assesses MTBE in the US Gulf with a minimum purity of 95%, a water maximum of 1,500 ppm, a methanol content max of 500ppm, RVP of 8-10 psi, octane minimum of 109 (R+M)/2 and oxygen minimum of 18.2% by weight. Platts will increase the maximum methanol content to 5,000 ppm and remove the RVP requirement as well as the minimum levels for both octane and oxygen. The water maximum will remain at 1,500 ppm and the purity level will remain at 95%. Daily assessments of MTBE (PHAKY00) can be found on Platts Petrochemical Alert page 205, Platts Biofuels Alert page 410 and Europe and Americas Petrochemicalscan. Please send comments and feedback to petchems@platts.com, with a cc to pricegroup@platts.com.