Platts to launch Northwest European bionaphtha assessments Sept. 1

Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, will launch bionaphtha assessments in Northwest Europe, effective Sept. 1, 2023.

Platts has observed growing supply and consumption of bionaphtha in Northwest Europe on the back of a rapid expansion in European biorefining capacity.

The growth in demand for bionaphtha is driven in part by the transition to lower carbon fuels where bionaphtha is used as a gasoline blending component, as well as increasing usage from chemical crackers that in turn supply bio-based feedstocks for consumer plastics production.

The launch of Platts Northwest European bionaphtha assessments follows a proposal published July 14, which can be found here:

https://www.spglobal.com/commodityinsights/en/our-methodology/subscriber-notes/071423-platts-proposes-to-launch-new-northwest-european-bio-naphtha-assessments-sept-1

The assessment will reflect parcels of 1,000-2,000 mt of bionaphtha, loading five to 15 days forward on an FOB ARA (Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp) basis. Other locations within Northwest Europe may be considered for the assessment but may be normalized to reflect loadings basis ARA.

Platts will publish the bionaphtha assessment on an outright basis and as a differential to the benchmark Platts CIF NWE naphtha cargo assessment (PAAAL00), reflecting typical trading practices. The assessments will be published in both $/mt and Eur/mt, time-stamped at 1630 London time.

The bionaphtha assessments will exclude material produced from palm-based feedstock and mirror applicable specifications set out in the Platts CIF NWE naphtha methodology, reflecting open specification material with a minimum 65% paraffin content and a typical density of 0.69 kg/l to 0.735 kg/l.

Certification requirements:

The new assessments will reflect material accompanied with International Sustainability & Carbon Certification Plus, or ISCC+, issued by a European Commission-approved auditing body. The ISCC+ is a voluntary sustainability certification for circular and bio-based products, renewables, food, feed & biofuels, for non-regulated markets outside of the European Union Renewable Energy Directive, or RED II, framework. Market feedback received suggest requests for ISCC+ certification for bionaphtha used as chemical feedstock to be prevailing market practice and typical. Where applicable, material accompanied with ISCC EU compliant certification and sustainability documentation showing a minimum greenhouse gas saving of 50% under RED II framework may be considered for the assessments, subject to normalization.

Platts understands while it is typical for buyers to request additional Kosher or Halal certifications for bionaphtha used as chemical feedstock, especially for consumer plastics or food packaging production, material adhering to these additional certification may command a premium and may be normalized for the purpose of these assessments.

Please send any comments or feedback to europe_products@spglobal.com, MRTS_biofuelsandfeedstocks@spglobal.com, petchems@spglobal.com and 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.