Platts to launch RD99 USGC and RD99 pipeline LA and SF assessments from Aug. 3

Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, will launch Renewable Diesel 99% (RD99) assessments for FOB barge US Gulf Coast, and RD99 Los Angeles and San Francisco price assessments that include environmental attributes, effective Aug. 3, 2026.

Platts proposed these new launches June 19 in a note found here.

New RD99 USGC assessment

Platts will launch a daily RD99 Gulf Coast FOB barge assessment. Platts will publish the price as an outright and as a differential to NYMEX ULSD futures.

The Gulf Coast has the highest renewable diesel capacity in the US and is a key export and import location with increasing domestic demand and from Europe and Canada.

The RD99 USGC price assessments will reflect the specifications below:

Based on market feedback, Platts has decided to update the assessment location basis Houston.

As a result, the USGC assessment will reflect trades across the greater Houston area, which includes Texas City, Deer Park, Pasadena and Houston, and Beaumont/Port Arthur. Other loading points, such as the Port of South Louisiana, may be considered for assessments but may be normalized back to the two basis locations.

The new assessments will exclude the D4 biomass-based diesel Renewable Identification Number and the Clean Fuel Production Credit (45Z).

The new assessment will consider market information reported to Platts and published as heards throughout the day, including firm bids and offers, trades and indicative values, as well as any other data deemed relevant to the assessment process.

Platts will also take into account different fuel volumes, carbon intensity, delivery dates, and ports, as well as delivery by truck, rail or pipe and may normalize back to the basis specifications.

The Platts RD99 NYMEX differential will roll from versus the front-month NYMEX ULSD futures contract (AAHS001) to the second month (AAHS002) NYMEX ULSD futures contract based on trading liquidity and market feedback.

New RD99 LA and SF assessments

Platts will launch two RD99 outright assessments and two differentials to NYMEX ULSD futures, basis Los Angeles and San Francisco. These assessments will include California cap-and-trade costs, reflecting compliance expenses under California's greenhouse gas program, as well as Low Carbon Fuel Standard deficits, reflecting costs incurred when a fuel generates a compliance obligation due to its carbon intensity.

Platts already assesses CCA and LCFS prices as follows:

Market feedback indicates that outright RD prices are commonly inclusive of attributes associated with fossil diesel.

The new assessments will consider market information reported to Platts and published as heards throughout the day, including firm bids and offers, trades and indicative values, as well as any other data deemed relevant to the assessment process. In the absence of market indications, Platts may also take into account the Platts RD99 price assessments without attributes (LA , AAUWB00) and (SF, AAUWD00), plus the assessed CCA and LCFS values.

The daily RD99 assessments with attributes will follow the same specification as the existing RD99 West Coast assessments:

These assessments will reflect the value of fuel for delivery on the Kinder Morgan Pipeline System. Platts will assess an "any month pipeline cycle," reflecting deliveries scheduled for any cycle during the current calendar month. Shipments on the Kinder Morgan pipeline are scheduled according to cycles. There are typically four cycles per month, for a total of 48 per year. For example, cycles 1, 2, 3 and 4 are for January; cycles 5, 6, 7, and 8 are for February, etc. Each cycle lasts approximately 7.5 days.

Platts will also publish the RD prices as a differential to the NYMEX ULSD futures contract daily settle. The differential will roll from using the front-month NYMEX ULSD futures contract (AAHS001) to the second month (AAHS002) contract based on trading liquidity and market feedback. For the Los Angeles diesel differential, it typically rolls in the third week of the month, while for the SF differential, it typically rolls in the fourth week of the month.

Platts will take into account different fuel volumes, carbon intensity, delivery dates, as well as delivery by truck and rail and may normalize back to the basis specifications.

The new RD99 assessment will reflect a 1:30 pm CST market close and follow the US publishing schedule. Platts will also publish monthly averages.

Platts currently publishes daily assessments for RD99 LA (AAUWB00) and SF (AAUWD00), as well as corresponding differentials against diesel. Platts has proposed to remove the standalone CCA cost component of these two assessments; the proposal note is available here.

Please send all feedback, comments, or questions to platts_biofuels@spglobal.com and pricegroup@spglobal.com.

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