The recent launch of the sour crude price assessment for the US Gulf has ensured Platts, the energy and commodities information provider, has remained busy in getting the benchmark right, said its vice president for news and pricing, Dan Tanz.
“It is something we are giving a lot of attention right now as we believe that the US has been in need of a good reference price representing crude oil in the US Gulf, where the bulk of the refining, trade and imports for the US takes place,” said Tanz.
Much criticism has been placed on the irregularities of ATI crude, forcing Platts hand in providing the market with more information. For Tanz, it was something that had been missing in oil price assessments.
“I think that what you are looking for in a benchmark is predictable behaviour, and we believe what we will establish here is very representative market value for sour crude oil in the Gulf,” he said.
“Sour crude accounts for roughly two-thirds of the oil that is imported into the US, and also roughly the same amount that passes through the US refineries, so it has been something that has been missing,” said Tanz.
“I think that sour will likely remain the main supply certainly to the US markets, and our job is really to proffer the market information that will help impact this business in an efficient manner. Pricing is key to that, so we are hopeful this will be useful additional information.”
Platts sour crude benchmark for the US Gulf was launched last month.
