Platts launches weekly Group III base oil FOB Asia assessments Sept. 2

Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, has launched weekly Group III base oil spot assessments for FOB Asia, effective Sept. 2.

The assessments reflect spot cargoes for Group III base oils:

Symbol	Grade	Basis	Quantity	Laycan	Location
GFAWK04	4CST	FOB Asia	1,000 mt in bulk	15-45 days forward	South Korea, Malaysia
GFBWK04	6CST	FOB Asia	1,000 mt in bulk	15-45 days forward	South Korea, Malaysia
GFCWK04	8CST	FOB Asia	1,000 mt in bulk	15-45 days forward	South Korea, Malaysia

The assessments are launched to complement the existing Group III-approved FOB South Korea, basis Ulsan, assessments.

The new assessments are published in $/metric ton and take into consideration price information gathered during the week ahead of the assessment, with indications normalized to the close at 4:30 pm Singapore time on Wednesday of each week.

The assessments reflect the values of physical base oil cargoes at the close of 4:30 pm Singapore time on Wednesday and follow the Singapore publishing schedule. When a Singapore public holiday falls on the planned publishing day, the assessment would be published the day prior to the public holiday.

Details of specifications:

	4CST	6CST	8CST
ASTM Color	Maximum 0.5	Maximum 0.5	Maximum 0.5
Viscosity at 100 degrees Celsius	4.0-4.5 millimeters squared/second	5.5 -6.7 millimeters squared/second	7.0-8.2 millimeters squared/second
Viscosity Index	Minimum 120	Minimum 120	Minimum 120
Flash Point	Minimum 200 degrees Celsius	Minimum 200 degrees Celsius	Minimum 200 degrees Celsius
Pour Point	Maximum -15 degrees Celsius	Maximum -12 degrees Celsius	Maximum -10 degrees Celsius
Sulfur content	Maximum 10 ppm	Maximum 10 ppm	Maximum 10 ppm

Pricing information with terms, locations and specifications different from the above standard may be considered for assessment purposes, subject to normalization.

This follows a proposal note published June 22, available here, and a decision note published Aug. 3, available here.

These assessments can be found in the Oilgram Price Report and Asia-Pacific/Arab Gulf Marketscan, and on Platts Global and Refined Product alert pages 1146 and 2529, under their price database codes stated above.

Please send any questions, comments or feedback to asia_products@spglobal.com, with a copy to pricegroup@spglobal.com.

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