DME Welcomes Growing Use of Oman Benchmark

Press release

Published July 5th, 2018 - 05:15 GMT

Ahmad Sharaf, Chairman of DME

Dubai Mercantile Exchange (DME), the premier international energy futures and commodities exchange in the Middle East, welcomes the announcement earlier today of Saudi Aramco’s commitment to using the DME Oman crude oil benchmark in its Asian pricing formula.

“We are delighted with the decision of Saudi Aramco to switch part of their pricing formula to the DME Oman Crude Oil Futures contract,” said Ahmad Sharaf, Chairman of DME. “Saudi Aramco’s announcement is a powerful recognition of the DME’s Oman Crude Oil Futures contract as the most efficient and transparent price discovery and risk management tool for the regional crude oil market.”

The DME Oman crude oil benchmark is currently used to establish the price of crude oil produced in the Sultanate of Oman and the Emirate of Dubai, underpinning approximately 1 million barrels per day of production. Today’s announcement by Saudi Aramco adds significant further physical price exposure to the Exchange.

DME Oman Crude Oil Futures was launched in 2007, and since then has grown in its global status and influence. The settlement price of DME Oman is established in a regulated, highly liquid and transparent five-minute window by up to 100 participants each day.

“DME was launched with a mandate to serve the Middle East and Asian oil markets. We value the confidence and trust placed in us by Saudi Aramco and look forward to continuing to provide the region and its customers with one of the world’s most robust oil price benchmarks,” Sharaf added.

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.