SUBSCRIBER NOTE: Middle East crude cargo nomination procedures, laycans

Platts would like to remind participants in the Middle East Market on Close crude oil price assessment process that for cargoes of Dubai, Upper Zakum, Al Shaheen, Oman or Murban, loading dates starting in the last three calendar days of the month should not be nominated except by mutual agreement between buyer and seller.

For Al-Shaheen cargoes, sellers should pass loading dates to buyers as soon as possible and at the latest before the end of the last trading day of the month of trade execution.

For other grades, buyers typically nominate loading dates in the month after trade execution.

In either case, buyers and sellers should not nominate cargoes with loading dates commencing in the last three calendar days of a month.

This is to avoid slippage risk -- the risk that end-month loading dates of a cargo will spill over into the next month with different pricing implications.

For example a cargo loading in August which has 31 days should have its nominated laycan no later than ending on August 29, e.g an August 28-29 loading cargo.

Platts reflects partial cargoes of crude oil in its physical assessments for Dubai, Oman, Upper Zakum, Al-Shaheen and Murban crudes.

Under the partials mechanism, the seller declares a full 500,000 barrel cargo of crude oil to the buyer after a total of 20 partials have been traded for the same loading month between the companies.

For Dubai partials, the seller has the option to deliver a Dubai, Oman, Upper Zakum or Al-Shaheen cargo, or a Murban cargo with a quality premium, to the buyer.

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