ADNOC considers new crude pricing system tied to Dubai benchmark
(Bloomberg) – The UAE’s biggest oil company is proposing a new pricing methodology for the sale of crude supplies to term customers, said people with direct knowledge of the matter, opting for an approach that’s more aligned with wider regional trading norms.
Abu Dhabi National Oil Co.’s crude-marketing team has spoken with refiners and traders about the changes and traveled recently to Singapore to explain the proposals, said the people, who asked not to be named as the talks were private. The team have since gone to Japan for similar discussions.
Under the plan, monthly official selling prices for grades originating within the Persian Gulf—Upper Zakum, Das and Umm Lulu crude—will be set at a differential to the Dubai benchmark for cargoes loading two months ahead, they said.
The OSPs for those three grades are currently set by Adnoc at a differential to Murban futures, which are priced on the ICE Futures Abu Dhabi platform. No change was proposed for the OSP formulation for Murban crude, Abu Dhabi’s flagship grade.
No timeline for the review or implementation was outlined, the people said.
ADNOC declined to comment.
The proposed OSPs for Upper Zakum, Das and Umm Lulu would allow easier comparison of the relative pricing of those grades with other varieties such as Oman and Al-Shaheen, which also typically trade against the Dubai benchmark on the spot market.
The change, if implemented, could support Adnoc’s plan to ramp up the production and shipment of its crude following the United Arab Emirates’ exit from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries in May.
ADNOC has been among the most successful Persian Gulf producers when it comes to shipping crude through the Strait of Hormuz over the past months of war, including with dark tactics like turning off transponders.
The company also sold tens of millions of barrels of prompt crude in the spot market, while pushing term buyers to collect their oil from inside the gulf in an effort to keep exports flowing.
