ASIA CRUDE MOC PERFORMANCE: 5.5 mil barrels change hands for Sep loading

Market participants in the Platts Middle East crude Market on Close assessment process have completed the physical performance of 5.5 million barrels of Oman crude for loading in September, according to trade performance data compiled by Platts, part of S&P Global Energy.

Middle East crude cargoes trade on a two-month forward cycle, meaning that product loading in September resulted from convergence cargoes declared in July. A convergence occurs when 20 partials are traded between two counterparties, resulting in a full 500,000-barrel physical cargo being declared from the seller to the buyer.

A total of 11 convergence cargoes, equivalent to 5.5 million barrels of crude, were declared in July, all of which were September-loading Oman crude.

Trafigura bought nine cargoes, while Mitsui took the remaining two. Vitol was the largest seller with six cargoes, followed by Mercuria with four and Unipec with one.

July MOC activity rose 438% month over month, with a total of 312 partials traded. Still, it was 44% lower year over year.

Performance tracking

Platts closely monitors performance on trades reported through the MOC process as part of its ongoing commitment to upholding the highest standards of integrity and transparency.

As part of trade performance tracking, Platts has reviewed various aspects of performance, including the timeliness of nominations, loading completion, and other published parameters of the trades.

Performance details of the convergence cargo declared during the July Platts crude partials MOC: 

Source: Platts, traders