Platts to launch Aframax USGC-UKC freight derivative assessments Nov. 1

S&P Global Platts will launch Aframax 70,000 mt US Gulf Coast-UK Continent freight derivative assessments, effective Nov. 1, 2021, to provide further transparency to the US Gulf Coast crude oil export and freight markets.

Under the proposal, Platts will publish derivative assessments for the balance month, current month and three forward months.

There has been increasing interest in freight forward contracts on this route, following growing crude exports from the US to Europe.

US crude exports from the Gulf Coast to Europe increased to an average of 970,000 b/d in the first six months of 2021, compared with 110,000 b/d throughout the whole of 2016, according to US Census data. Of the total US crude export volume H1 2021, shipments to Europe comprise about a third of total volumes, up from a 19% share in the whole of 2016, according to the data.

The balance-month and current-month derivatives will be assessed from the first, up to and including the 15th of each month. The balance-month contract will financially settle against the Platts Aframax 70,000 mt USGC-UKC spot freight assessments (Platts price database code TDUCF00) on every remaining publishing day of the month, including the day of publication. The current month contract will financially settle against the same Platts spot freight assessment on every publishing day of the month.

The three forward-month contracts will also financially settle against the Platts Aframax 70,000 mt USGC-UKC spot freight assessments on every publishing day in the month, and these will roll on the first publication day of each month.

All assessments will reflect a minimum volume of 1,000 mt. The assessments will be published in Worldscale points as well as US dollars per mt.

The assessments will reflect the transactable value of the contracts at 1.30 pm Houston time, and will follow the Houston publication schedule.

The new assessments are:

The assessments will be published in the Dirty Tankerwire; on Platts Global Alert page PGT1990 and Platts Shipping Alert page SHP2432; and in the Platts price database under the codes above.

Please send any further feedback, comments or questions to shipping@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 to the public upon request.