SUBSCRIBER NOTE: Platts to update USGC Basrah Light specifications

Following extensive research and a consultation period that ended March 4, Platts will update the specifications of Basrah Light crude oil arriving in the US Gulf Coast with effect April 1, 2016.

Platts will update the quality specifications to the typical specifications as delivered to term lifters by Iraq's State Organization for Marketing of Oil (SOMO). Based on Energy Information Administration data showing the quality of all the Iraqi crude imports into the US, the new specifications for the assessment will reflect a typical Basrah Light barrel with an API gravity of 29.5 degrees and a maximum sulfur content of 3%.

In June 2015, Iraq started exporting a new Basrah Heavy crude grade alongside Basrah Light as part of an effort to improve and stabilize the quality of Basrah Light, which had been getting heavier in recent years. The average gravity of Basrah Light in 2015 was 28.56 API degrees, with quality increasing from 27.52 API degrees in June to 30.29 API at the end of 2015.

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