Subscriber note: Platts to normalize CIF Azeri Light crude to Ceyhan quality, publish FOB netback

Effective January 2, 2014, Platts will normalize its Azeri Light crude oil, basis CIF Augusta, assessment to volumes loaded from the Turkish port of Ceyhan. Platts will continue to include in its assessment processes Azeri Light loading from the Black Sea ports of Batumi or Supsa but indications including these load ports may be normalized. The proposal to normalize to Ceyhan quality and publish a FOB netback was first announced July 5, 2013. Following a period of feedback, a declarative note was published August 23, 2013. Platts became aware of a divergence in volumes and quality between Mediterranean and Black Sea loadings. Loadings from the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline in Turkey are not subject to potential delays in the Turkish Straits into the Mediterranean. Platts now publishes 80,000 mt and 135,000 mt FOB Ceyhan netback assessments, generated using the 80,000 mt CIF Augusta (loading basis Ceyhan) assessment and freight netbacks using the Platts daily freight rate assessments for 80,000 mt and 135,000 mt dirty vessels. In Platts Crude Oil Marketwire, the 80,000 mt FOB netback will be labeled Azeri Light BTC FOB Ceyhan 80KT and the 135,000 mt netback will be labeled Azeri Light BTC FOB Ceyhan. The assessments will appear under codes AAUFM00 and AAUFK00 respectively. Platts will continue to publish assessments reflecting FOB basis Supsa, which are still derived as freight netback assessments from its CIF Augusta assessment. Platts will also continue to publish its BTC FOB Ceyhan netback, which is still derived as a freight netback assessment combining both 80,000 mt and 135,000 mt freight rates. In October 2012, Platts amended the metric tonnes-to-barrels conversion factors for Azeri Light basis Ceyhan to 7.45 and for Azeri Light basis Supsa to 7.4, in order to more accurately reflect the quality of Azeri Light loading from Ceyhan. Please send any feedback to europe_crude@platts.com and pricegroup@platts.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 upon request.