SUBSCRIBER NOTE: Platts to launch new Dated Strip, CIF Rotterdam differential assessments

As part of S&P Global Platts' move to reflect published physical bids, offers and transactions in the Dated Brent CIF Rotterdam assessment, Platts proposes to start publishing CIF basis Rotterdam differentials for Dated Brent and its component crude grades -- Brent, Forties, Oseberg and Ekofisk -- as well as a new forward Dated Brent strip pricing 12 days forward to month ahead, and a Dated North Sea Light CIF Rotterdam assessment, on September 1, 2017.

These assessments would be published in addition to Platts' current CIF basis Rotterdam outright price assessments.

Starting September 1, Platts will publish bids, offers and trades in the Platts Market on Close assessment process for all cargoes of physical Dated Brent component grades delivered basis Rotterdam between 12 days and one month ahead of the date of publication. This was announced in a note published on July 3 and available here: https://www.platts.com/subscriber-notes-details/26763880.

Platts currently publishes Dated Brent CIF Rotterdam as an outright price, based on the most competitive grade of Brent, Forties, Oseberg and Ekofisk delivered to Rotterdam for each day in a 10 days forward to month ahead assessment period. Platts also currently publishes separate outright prices for each individual BFOE crude grade including freight costs, Quality Premiums, and transposition of values to reflect expected delivery dates for FOB cargoes into Rotterdam.

Under this new proposal, Platts would publish Dated Brent CIF Rotterdam as both an outright, and a differential price to the forward Dated Brent market 12 days to one month ahead, including quality premiums, in line with the new delivered assessment period. Platts would also publish differentials for each individual BFOE crude grade but would assess these on the basis of published MOC information. In the absence of any bids, offers or trades, Platts would assess each grade CIF basis Rotterdam on the basis of freight and other market indicators.

PRICING BASIS AND TERMS: Platts would publish bids and offers based on 2-1-2 pricing around COD as standard. Platts understands that the BFOE grades also trade using alternative pricing terms, including "deemed bill of lading" (using standardized theoretical loading dates based on journey time). Platts would publish bids and offers using reasonable alternative pricing bases, but will calculate these indications back to 2-1-2 around COD, in order to ensure consistency between the grades. Market indications reflecting alternative pricing terms, such as 0+5 after bill of lading, may be included in the Platts MOC assessment process for Dated Brent CIF Rotterdam, but will be normalized back to the 2-1-2 standard for assessment purposes.

OPERATIONAL TOLERANCE: Platts would reflect bids, offers and trades for 600,000 barrel CIF basis Rotterdam BFOE cargoes with an operational tolerance of 1%, in the seller's option, as well as fixed volume cargoes of between 594,000-606,000 barrels. Operational tolerance would be determined by volume at the loading port rather than at the delivery port. Platts would expect that any disputes arising from volume loss or "clingage" in the transfer of crude from loading terminal to discharge port would be settled according to accepted market practice.

Platts first proposed to reflect MOC information for physical BFOE on a CIF Rotterdam basis on December 19, 2016. The original subscriber note can be found here: https://www.platts.com/subscriber-notes-details/21381985.

Please send all feedback to europe_crude@spglobal.com and pricegroup@spglobal.com by August 11, 2017.

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