DME Launches Eight New Oil Contracts

Press release

Published September 4th, 2018 - 11:45 GMT

Dubai Mercantile Exchange

Dubai Mercantile Exchange (DME), the premier international energy futures and commodities exchange in the Middle East announced the launch of eight new oil listings on Monday, following completion of the regulatory review.

Among the new products offered by DME is the Oman Crude Oil/Platts Dubai Crude Oil Futures contract (code DOP) which helps customers match their hedging exposure for crude from Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest exporter of crude oil. Saudi Aramco recently announced it is changing the way it calculates its Official Selling Price (OSPs) from 1 October, 2018, which will take the monthly average of DME Oman and Platts Dubai - creating a hybrid between the two major Asia benchmarks.

To complement the new crude oil hedging tool, DME is also listing the Oman/Dubai contract as a spread versus Brent futures and Asian refined products.

The new listings will complement DME’s current suite of products, which includes the flagship Oman Futures contract, along with Dubai and Brent/Dubai futures.

Ahmad Sharaf, Chairman of DME, said: “The new listings are the next step in the natural evolution of the DME and exchange-traded products across the Asian markets, helping customers to hedge physical pricing exposure on both crude oil and refined products.”

Background Information

Dubai Mercantile Exchange

The Dubai Mercantile Exchange Limited (DME) is the premier international energy futures and commodities exchange in the Middle East, providing a financially secure, well-regulated and transparent trading environment.

The DME is majority owned by core shareholders Tatweer (a subsidiary of Dubai Holding), Oman Investment Fund and CME Group. Global financial institutions and energy trading firms such as Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Shell, Vitol and Concord Energy have taken equity stakes in the DME, providing the exchange with a resounding vote of confidence by major players in global energy markets.

The DME is a fully electronic exchange, and its contracts are listed on the CME Globex platform, the world’s leading electronic trading platform, providing access to the broadest array of futures and options products available on any exchange. The DME is regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) and all trades executed on the exchange are cleared through and guaranteed by NYMEX (a member of CME Group), which is regulated by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and is a recognized body by the DFSA.