SUBSCRIBER NOTE: Platts to standardize FOB Rotterdam Jet Barges methodology

S&P Global Platts will standardize its Northwest European FOB Rotterdam Jet barges assessment methodology, following a formal consultation period and a subsequent proposal note. The decision will take effect from July 2, 2018.

A proposal note was published on February 12, 2018 -- available at https://www.platts.com/subscriber-notes-details/10229212 -- which followed a formal consultation period opened on August 24, 2017 and ended on October 31, 2017.

This decision follows an analysis of trade data and feedback on the prevalent fungible sizes, pricing mechanisms and locations in the north-west European jet fuel barges space, which has shown significant evolution in the market, with fungible trading activity reported across the wide Flushing-Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp-Ghent ports range.

The decision will affect the following aspects of the methodology:

Basis Ports: - Platts will standardize the assessment basis from FOB basis Rotterdam to FOB Flushing-Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp-Ghent (FARAG) - Bids and offers in the Platts Market on Close (MOC) assessment process will be published basis FARAG - Indications for alternative loadports may be considered for publication and normalized accordingly

Barges Sizes:

- The assessment will continue to reflect a basis of 2,000 mt - 3,000 mt - Platts will publish bids and offers for the following ranges: 2,000 mt - 3,000 mt; 2,000 mt - 4,000 mt, with volume nomination in the buyer?s option at time of trade

Laycans: - Platts will standardize the way in which bids and offers are published in its MOC assessment process to any fixed five-day period within the 3-15 (Monday-Tuesday) or 5-15 (Wednesday-Friday) days forward assessment period.

Pricing bases: - Platts will continue to reflect bids and offers expressed in outright terms as well as on floating and EFP bases - For floating indications, Platts will standardize the pricing period to the published five-day laycan of the indication for the main volume. - In line with its current methodology, Platts reflects bids, offers and trades that limit a counterparty's price exposure to operational tolerance. Operational tolerance is typically limited to plus or minus 5% of the transacted size for barges. When pricing on a floating basis, Platts reflects barges where the operational tolerance prices at the mean of the subsequent three assessments published by Platts after the bill of lading, at the same differential as the main volume.

The FOB Rotterdam Jet Fuel barges assessment is published in the Platts European Marketscan, PGA page 1410 and in Platts' price database under the code: PJABA00.

Please send any comments or queries to europe_products@spglobal.com with a cc to pricegroup@spglobal.com. For written comments, please provide a clear indication if comments are not intended for publication by Platts for public viewing. Platts will consider all comments received and will make comments not marked as confidential available upon request.