Dubai Mercantile Exchange Hosts Its Latest Auction on Behalf of Iraq’s National Oil Company

Press release

Published January 29th, 2018 - 10:32 GMT

Ahmad Sharaf, DME Chairman

Dubai Mercantile Exchange hosted its latest auction on Monday, January 29, 2018, on behalf of Iraq’s National Oil Company, SOMO.

The 2-million-barrel cargo of Basrah Light was awarded at a premium of $0.42 per barrel over the March 2018 Basrah Light Official Selling Price (OSP). Twenty-five companies have participated in the auction with 16 bids received during the two-minute auction.

In January 2018, DME auctioned a total of 6 million barrels for three different crude oil grades; Oman Blend, Basrah Light, and Basrah Heavy. This generated premiums of nearly $2 million.

DME Auctions was launched in 2016 in a bid to provide a transparent spot commodity auction system for the first time in the Middle East.

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.