Platts launches new Platts European Sour Crude Index Aug 17

Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, has launched the Platts European Sour Crude Index Aug. 17, 2022.

This assessment is a weighted average of three long-established Platts assessments of the North Sea's higher-sulfur crude streams: Johan Sverdrup, Grane, and Flotta Gold.

The North Sea is a mature and largely low-sulfur crude oil basin but these three sourer grades will provide a further price point for similar grades in the region.

Platts has noted strong support for the addition of a new European Sour Crude Index, after the sharp drop in Urals crude values seen since the February 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, which prompted self-sanctioning from many energy companies, as well as official sanctions from the US and European Union.

Urals crude oil has long been transparently assessed through the Platts Market on Close assessment process, which shows bids, offers and transactions of cargoes publicly and clearly. These benchmarks are not only used in many physical term and spot deals, but also underpin swaps contracts on international exchanges. The new trading environment for Urals crude has led to lower values versus benchmark Dated Brent, values which are not necessarily replicable in grades free of legal sanction.

The weighting of the grades in the Platts European Sour Crude Index reflect standard loading programs and is as follows:

Johan Sverdrup: 65%

Grane: 30%

Flotta Gold: 5%

The average value is assessed as both an outright value and as a differential to Dated Brent/North Sea Dated Strip under the following Platts symbols:

Platts European Sour Crude Index: CSBEA00

Platts European Sour Crude Index MAvg: CSBEA03

Platts European Sour Crude Index vs North Sea Dtd Strip: CSBEB00

Platts European Sour Crude Index vs North Sea Dtd Strip MAvg: CSBEB03

Platts will also backfill these symbols to the date of the launch of the Platts Johan Sverdrup assessment, Dec. 2, 2019.

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