Platts to include Ust-Luga cargoes in Urals CIF Augusta crude assessment

S&P Global Platts will include bids, offers and trades for 100,000 mt Urals cargoes loading from the Baltic Sea port of Ust-Luga in its CIF Augusta assessment, effective Nov. 22, 2021.

This change will complement the previous decision to reflect ex-Primorsk cargoes in the CIF Augusta Urals assessment, launched Jan. 2, 2020. The subscriber note for that change can be found here:

https://www.spglobal.com/platts/en/our-methodology/subscriber-notes/010220-platts-reflects-ex-primorsk-urals-crude-cargoes-in-cif-augusta

Platts publishes bids, offers, and trades for 100,000 mt cargoes loading from the port of Primorsk on a CIF/CFR Augusta basis in the Platts Market on Close assessment process. Platts will apply the same methodology to 100,000 mt Ust-Luga cargoes. The assessment will continue to also reflect 80,000 mt ex-Novorossiisk cargoes on a CIF/CFR Augusta basis.

No changes will be made for ex-Novorossiisk cargoes. The methodology for the CIF Rotterdam assessment will also remain unchanged.

ASSESSMENT SIZE: Platts previously widened the assessment volume for the CIF Augusta Urals assessment from 80,000 mt to 80,000-100,000 mt, with the assessment determined by factoring in both cargo sizes. Platts will continue to reflect bids and offers of 140,000 mt cargoes, normalized back to an 80,000-100,000 mt standard.

OFFERS: Platts will include offers of 100,000 mt cargoes loading from the Baltic Sea port of Ust-Luga on a CIF/CFR Augusta basis under the same methodology as ex-Primorsk cargoes. Platts will continue to reflect offers of 80,000 mt cargoes loading from Novorossiisk.

BIDS: Platts publishes bids for 80,000 mt, 100,000 mt and 80,000/100,000 mt. As part of this decision and in line with the current methodology allowing inclusion of ex-Primorsk oil, cargoes sold into 80,000/100,000 mt bids could be sourced from either Primorsk, Ust-Luga or the Black Sea, in the seller's option. Bids for 80,000 mt cargoes would not be supplied with 100,000 mt cargoes, and bids for 100,000 mt cargoes would not be supplied with 80,000 mt cargoes, unless otherwise mutually agreed.

The existing Urals nomination methodology will apply to 80,000/100,000 mt trades, whereby the seller must nominate the two-day loading laycan at least seven clear calendar days ahead of the first day of the originally-traded five-day loading range. The seller must also nominate the performing vessel name and load port at least seven clear calendar days ahead of the first day of the originally-traded five-day loading range.

The existing observed delivery factor (ODF) methodology will also apply in order to to adjust Ust-Luga load dates to a Novorossiisk basis in the summer period from Apr. 1 to Sept. 30. This is in line with the current methodology applied to Primorsk-loading crude. In applying the ODF to indications, Platts will continue to account for the impact of market structure on published differentials.

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