布伦特定价 Dated Brent Mechanism

www.platts.com Methodology and Specifications Guide TheMcGraw Hill Companies LATEST UPDATE: January 2012 Crude Oil Introduction 2 North Sea 2 Dated Brent and Brent/Ninian Blend (BNB) 2 Platts cash BFOE assessment methodology 3 Brent CFDs 4 Forties and the de-escalator 4 Other BFOE Grades 5 Other North Sea grades 5 Brent-related crudes, and the forward curve 5 Market on Close 6 West Africa 8 Time cut-offs 8 Grades 8 Mediterranean 10 Timing 10 Assessment Timestamp 10 Time Cut-offs 10 Incrementability 10 Nomination 10 Date range 11 Loading locations 11 Volume 11 Ship acceptability 11 Persian Gulf 15 Dubai and Oman 15 Dubai/Oman partials assessment methodology 16 Other Persian Gulf crudes 17 Asian Dated Brent Strip and Differentials 18 Asia-Pacific 18 The Platts Asian Crude Oil Index 20 United States 20 US domestic grades London close 21 Americas Crude Marker (ACM) 21 Americas Crude Marker Methodology 22 Americas Dated Brent 23 Grades 23 US crude oil postings 24 Latin America 24 Canada 25 Postings-based 25 Spot-based 26 Canadian crude oil postings 26 Unscheduled NYMEX Closures 27 Trading platforms 27 Code list for Crude Oil Marketwire 28 ] METHODOLOGY GUIDE INTRODUCTION / NORTH SEA 2CRUDE OIL INTRODUCTION The following crude specifications guide contains the primary specifications and methodologies for Platts crude oil cargo and pipeline assessments throughout the world. The various components of this guide are designed to give Platts subscribers as much information as possible about a wide range of methodology and specification issues. This methodology is current at the time of publication. Platts may issue further updates and enchancements to this methodology and will announce these to subscribers through its usual publications of record. Such updates will be included in the next version of the methodology. Platts editorial staff and managers will usually be ready to provide guidance when assessment issues require clarification. Should you need any additional editorial information please feel free to contact our editorial or sales offices by phone or by using the free “Ask Us” editorial questions email service that can be found on our web site at www.platts.com. You can also reach our sales team by email at info@platts.com. NORTH SEA The window of assessment for North Sea crude grades is typically 10-25 days from date of publication (for dated Brent/Forties/Oseberg/Ekofisk, the window reflected is 10-25 days Monday-Thursday, and 10-27 days on Friday). North Sea crude grades are generally traded as a differential to dated Brent or as a differential to cash BFOE. All grades are assessed on a Market on Close basis, with assessment values aligned to 16.30:00 London time precisely. In order to ensure proper dissemination of market information and performance, new bids/offers published by Platts on page 3 of its Platts Global Alert electronic screen service (PGA003) must be received by Platts no later than the published cut-off periods. For physical North Sea bids and offers, the cut-off is currently 16.10:00; for CFD bids and offers (outright and rolls) the cut-off is currently 16.15:00; for outright cash BFOE bids and offers, the cut-off is currently 16.25:00 London time, for cash BFOE spread bids and offers, the cut-off is currently 16:28:00. For physical North Sea bids and offers, prices may be changed incrementally until 16.25:00 London time, for CFD bids and offers (outright and rolls) prices may be changed incrementally until 16:25:00, outright and spreads on cash BFOE bids and offers may be changed incrementally up until the 16.30:00 close. The time cut- off for offers of Brent Blend on a ship-to-ship (STS) Scapa Flow basis is 15.30:00 London time. Please go to http://www.platts.com/IM.Platts.Content/MethodologyReference s/MethodologySpecs/timingincrementguidelines.pdf for detailed guidelines on timings. Please note that the purpose of these time cut-offs and standards of incrementability and repeatability are primarily logistical, and designed to ensure orderly price discovery. As such, they may be changed at short notice if evolving market conditions require. Please note that up until October 1, 2005, the North Sea assessments reflected a 17.30:00 London time close and the time cut-offs for submission of new bids and offers were an hour later than those currently applied. DATED BRENT AND BRENT/NINIAN BLEND (BNB) Physical Brent crude oil represents commingled crude from the Brent and Ninian systems, known in Platts processes since 2007 as Brent/Ninian Blend (BNB), slated to load at the Sullom Voe terminal. Currently, the API gravity is estimated at 38 degrees and the sulfur content at 0.45% sulfur, but the qualities of all crude oils tend to change over time. Platts no longer assesses a Brent-only price, due to problems resulting from the decline in its production to a relatively low level. Beginning in mid-2002, Platts substituted for straight Brent a combination of Brent/Forties/Oseberg known as BFO. In 2007, Platts incorporated Ekofisk into the assessment price formation for physical benchmark Dated Brent, giving rise to BFOE. However, the nomenclature for Brent did not change, and Platts still refers to its key wet assessment as Dated Brent, and its key paper assessments as Brent. Platts also launched a North Sea Light assessment which is identical to the Brent price Platts makes three forward assessments for 25-day cash BFOE, which represent Platts forward Brent assessments. 25-day cash BFOE is also commonly known as cash BFOE or paper BFOE and the assessment reflects the value of a cargo with physical delivery within the month specified in the contract. The name 25-day name stems from the practice of notifying buyers of the loading dates for their cargoes 25 days in advance of the delivery. The assessed level reflects the tradeable value for full and partial cargoes on the 25-day BFOE market. The front month 25-day BFOE contract expires on the fifth of a 30-day calendar month, but the Platts assessment continues until the last business day of the preceding calendar month for legacy reasons. For example, July 25-day BFOE will expire on June 5 but Platts will assess until June 30. On July 1, August BFOE becomes the first month, September BFOE becomes the second month, and October BFOE is added as the third month. The process will repeat itself on July 31. Platts publishes in effect synthetic 25-day BFOE assessments for the front month between the fifth and the end of the preceding month. Platts assesses the front month 25-day BFOE at a constant spread to the second month 25-day BFOE from around the fifth of each calendar month to the end of the month. For more information on the Market on Close methodology used to assess BFOE, please see the section below. Dated Brent is a rolling assessment that reflects the price of physical, wet Brent-Forties-Oseberg-Ekofisk cargoes loading no less than ten METHODOLOGY GUIDE NORTH SEA 3CRUDE OIL days forward. Specifically, dated Brent cargoes loading 10-25 days forward will be taken into account Monday through Thursday. On Friday, dated Brent cargoes loading 10-27 days forward will be taken into account. Deals done, as well as bids and offers, may be taken into account for assessment purposes. Changes in spread trade may also be considered. The cargoes are loaded FOB terminal and may include stored material at each location. Since January 2001, Platts may also consider ship-to-ship transfers at Scapa Flow of Brent crude oil that has been recently loaded at Sullom Voe and remains in its original condition, and provided the seller agrees to cover all additional costs incurred by the buyer who agrees to lift the oil on a STS basis. In September 2006 the ex-ship offer mechanism was broadened to the evaluation of Forties and Oseberg crude, which form part of the BFOE complex. PLATTS CASH BFOE ASSESSMENT METHODOLOGY In July 2002, Platts broadened its definition of Brent crude oil and included market activity in Forties and Oseberg crude markets in the Platts Dated Brent assessment and the Platts forward cash Brent assessment. Ekofisk was added to the system in June 2007. Platts daily spot price assessments for forward cash Brent months include activity in all four North Sea benchmark grades, Brent, Forties, Oseberg and Ekofisk (BFOE). All aspects of the BFOE assessment methodology were developed by Platts and are proprietary to Platts. Platts continues to assess separate spot values for Oseberg, Forties and Ekofisk. Rationale for the BFOE combination: The production of Brent has fallen over time. Given its role as a key benchmark, the Brent price at times became increasingly disconnected from that of other similar grades. Platts conducted extensive consultations with the industry, and came to the conclusion that its Brent assessment would be more reflective of market fundamentals in the North Sea if the assessment was broadened to include Oseberg and Forties crude oil. Platts implemented this change in July 2002. In 2007 Ekofisk was added to the complex to further bolster the volume available for assessment. Further changes are likely if production of the key grades is deemed too low or if their qualities were to deviate significantly from the norm. Platts’ Brent assessments incorporate the values of Brent, Oseberg and Ekofisk with the most competitive grade setting the price at the margin. If Brent is the most competitive grade then Brent will be the most important factor setting the assessment. Brent has historically been the most competitive grade, with Oseberg, Forties and Ekofisk typically trading above Brent on a flat price basis. The methodology operates as a relief valve, with the other grades influencing the assessment only if the price of Brent disconnects from those of other North Sea grades. Most grades in the North Sea are light and low in sulfur, with Oseberg and Ekofisk fairly close in quality, price and geographical location to Brent. Oseberg and Forties were oringally considered the closest grades, add substantial volume and historically have been worth more than Brent. This allows them, together with Ekofisk, to act as a “price cap” on upward squeezes in the Brent market without causing any flat price distortions in Brent. Since the start-up of the Buzzard field in January 2007, the quality of Forties has changed significantly. With effect from June 7th, Platts has implemented a quality standard for Forties crude assessments. Platts, from this date, assesses crude meeting 37 degree API minimum and 0.6 pct sulfur maximum content in Forties. Platts will continue to review the situation to ensure its assessments reflect normal and standard grades. Methodology: The most competitive grade at the margin will under typical circumstances be the grade reflected in the assessment. Under normal market conditions, the most competitive grade has been Brent and the inclusion of Forties, Oseberg and Ekofisk should not alter the prevailing price of Brent. However, the inclusion of Buzzard into the Forties stream has meant Brent is often not the most competitive grade. This methodology neither adds nor subtracts barrels from the overall crude oil marketplace, but adds volume to the benchmark to ensure it continues to reflect supply/demand fundamentals. Supply and demand remain unchanged. Platts does not average the price of Brent, Oseberg, Forties and Ekofisk to set its Dated Brent assessment. The most competitive grade at the margin will have the greatest degree of influence in the assessment. Timing: Backwardation and contango are factored in the assessment process. If a company offers a cheap cargo loading 10 days forward, the offer would only influence at the most the Platts assessment for cargoes loading 10 days forward. Platts would still need to assess days 11 through 25 and publish an assessment that is inclusive of market value from 10-25 days forward. The range stretches to 27 days for Friday assessments. Platts previously had a 7-15 day range. But most other North Sea grades trade with loading dates further into the future than Brent. Platts’ objective was to bring its Dated Brent assessments more in line with market practice in the North Sea. Hence, Platts implemented a change to reflect cargoes with loading dates 10-21 days forward, Monday to Thursday, and 10-23 days forward on Friday. A further decline in production and a further shift forward in typically traded loading dates led to another change in the dates reflected in the Platts Dated Brent assessments. On January 6, 2012, Platts amended the date range reflected in the Dated Brent assessment to 10-25 days forward from the date of publicataion. An example: ■ Forties loading 16-18 July sold at Dated Brent plus $0.10/bbl ■ Brent loading 16-18 July sold at August Brent plus $0.10/bbl In order to assess these transactions Platts would need to determine the value of August Brent and the value of the underlying Brent swap, also known as the CFD, covering the METHODOLOGY GUIDE NORTH SEA 4CRUDE OIL loading period for the Forties cargo. (For more information on CFDs, see the section entitled Brent CFDs). If as an example, the value of August Brent is $65.00, then the Brent loading 16-18 July would be assessed at $65.10/bbl. For the Forties assessment Platts would then determine the flat price value of the dated Brent CFD covering the loading/pricing. In this example, the dated Brent CFD for the pricing period (week of July 15-19) was valued at August Brent minus 10 cts/bbl to an equivalent of $64.90/bbl. Platts would then add/subtract the differential at which the Forties cargo was sold. In this case Forties was sold at a positive differential of $0.10/bbl, leading to a fixed price equivalent of $65.00/bbl. The most competitive grade in this example is Forties and the assessed value for Platts dated Brent would be $65.00/bbl for cargoes loading around July 17. Platts would still need to assess all the other days in the 10-21 day range used for the assessment. Operational tolerance:Platts reflects in its assessments cargoes loading ‘within’ 1% plus or minus operational tolerance. Platts believes that cargoes trading with pre-known tolerances ahead of the actual cargo loading include an option value that distorts the true value of the assessed commodity. Terms & Conditions: Offers/bids/transactions for forward Brent, Oseberg, Forties and Ekofisk, or BFOE, as previously announced, are used for assessment purposes in the forward daily Brent monthly Platts assessments. The bids/offers and transactions are recognized for assessment purposes provided they meet the following conditions: ■ Cargo date nominations are declared 25 days in advance. ■ Cargoes load under normal terms and conditions. ■ Normally, Forties cargoes are loaded under BP’s terms and conditions, Brent cargoes are loaded under Shell’s terms and conditions, Oseberg cargoes are loaded under Statoil’s terms and conditions, and Ekofisk under ConocoPhillips’ terms and conditions. ■ Any partials that are not fully and satisfactorily recombined into full cargoes of 600,000 bbl would need to be booked out under normal terms and conditions currently prevailing for a Brent book out. If a partial is not commercially booked out, then the partial would need to be priced out on the Brent assessments on the same basis as Brent partials are booked out. ■ If Brent, Oseberg, Ekofisk or Forties is delivered under a BFOE basis, each cargo size shall be 600,000 bbl. BRENT CFDS Brent CFDs (Contract For Difference) are relatively short–term swaps, quoted by Platts for each of eight weeks ahead of the current date at any one time. They also are traded for bi- monthly and monthly periods in the marketplace. They represent the market differential in price between the Dated Brent (BFOE) assessment and a forward month cash contract, i.e. forward month “BFOE” (Brent-Forties-Oseburg-Ekofisk) cash contract, over the period of the swap. The first weekly balance is on a forward week basis on Thursday and Friday, and becomes a balance week quotation between Monday and Wednesday. It is rolled forward every Thursday. Second week onward assessments are all forward week assessments. Assessments are quoted as a differential to the second BFOE cash contract month, e.g on July 23rd, the assessment would be against September cash BFOE. The relevant cash month rolls on the first day of the month of each month e.g. June will become the basis month on April 1. CFDs are a means for holders of long or short BFOE cash positions to hedge against or speculate in movements in the dated Brent market. The CFD swap is between the uncertain or “floating” price of the dated Brent differential and a certain or “fixed” differential price, which generally is Platts’ daily dated Brent crude assessment. CFDs are priced using averages of a particular week’s worth of daily price assessments as quoted by Platts. Each trade is an exchange of a fixed for a floating risk in the Dated to BFOE cash differential. CFDs are generally traded in clips of 100 lots, i.e. 100,000 barrels. In addition to Dated Brent (BFOE), CFDs are also used to price crudes which are sold at a differential to Dated Brent. FORTIES AND THE DE-ESCALATOR The assessment for Forties blend is based on FOB Hound Point, UK. Currently, the API gravity of Forties is 40.3 degrees and the sulfur content is around 0.58%. The assessment reflects values for cargoes loading 10-25 days forward Monday-Thursday and 10-27 days forward on Friday. In June 2007 Platts introduced a quality standard into its Forties assessments when maintenance-led quality disruptions began to occur. As of July 2, 2007, Platts considers Forties in its assessments of Dated Brent and related North Sea instruments with a quality de-escalator applied for deliveries above the base standard of 0.60% sulfur. Platts considers in its assessments bids, offers and deals where a de-escalator of 25 cents/barrel for every 0.10 per cent of sulfur above the 0.6% standard is specified. The original value of the de-escalator was set at 40 cts/b. This was revised to 60 cts/b on June 30, 2008, then to 40 cts/b on October 1, 2008, to 20 cts/b on January 2, 2009, 30 cts/b on February 1, 2011, to 40 cts/b on April 1, 2011 and then to 25 cts/b on December 1, 2011. The de-escalator will be effective until the end of the calendar year unless there is a significant and sustained event in the crude oil market that would necessitate an interim and open review. The Forties sulfur de-escalator changes from time to time and current rates are as published in the Platts Crude Oil Marketwire. Platts uses three significant figures for determination of sulphur- related payment. The test reflecting this figure should be the METHODOLOGY GUIDE NORTH SEA / BRENT RELATED CRUDES, AND THE FORWARD CURVE 5CRUDE OIL ASTM-D2622. Forties cargoes and all related instruments, including cash BFOE cash forwards, bid or offered through the Platts system must adhere to this standard. Platts will consider in its assessments bids, offers and deals where a de-escalator of 25 cts/barrel for every 0.1% of sulfur is specified. Under the de-escalator, the seller would pay the buyer this compensatory amount for every 0.1% of sulfur over 0.6% on a pro-rata basis, as follows: 0.6% No payment to buyer 0.625% Seller pays 6.25 cts/barrel to buyer 0.65% Seller pays 12.5 cts/ barrel to buyer 0.7% Seller pays 25 cts/ barrel to buyer 0.8% Seller pays 50 cts/ barrel to buyer 0.9% Seller pays 75 cts/ barrel to buyer OTHER BFOE GRADES Oseberg: The assessment is based on FOB Sture, Norway. Currently, the API gravity of Oseberg is 37.8 degrees and the sulfur content is 0.27%. The assessment reflects values for cargoes loading 10-25 days forward Monday-Thursday and 10-27 days forward on Friday. Ekofisk: The assessment is based on FOB Te