Oman competitor Rebco

In Dubai, the Dubayskaya commodity exchange DMI has been launched by the Middle Eastern oil, DMI has announced that since May 1 it launches three futures contracts for the average -term raw Oman Oil. One of them involves physical deliveries, and the other two will be financial products-the spreads of Brent-aman and West Texas Intermediate-aman. So Oman oil has a world chance. If trade is untwisted, Oman oil can become an exchange standard in the market for sulfuric oil varieties, thus replacing the declared, but not yet held project to organize exchange trade in Russian oil.

Exchange smell of sulfur

DMI is a joint venture of the New York commodity exchange and TatWher, owned by the Crown Prince Shah Mohammed Ben Rashed Maktumu. It is expected that trading contracts on the DMI site will begin on May 1 of this year simultaneously in key energy shops in local time: at 6.00 in Singapore, at 2.00 in Dubai, at 23.00 in London (previous day) and at 18.00 in New York (previous day).

An independent state body will regulate the work of the Dubai Exchange - Dubai Financial Services Authority. “The authorities in Dubai are suitable for the approval of financial transactions no less demanding than the relevant authorities in key international jurisdictions,” the head of the exchange Gari King emphasizes in a special statement. Clearing (that is, registration, provision of guarantees and final calculations of the transaction) is taken by the New York commodity exchange.

Oil exported from the countries of the Middle East contains a large amount of sulfur. Such varieties in relation to less sulfuries are traded at a discount, on the setting of which underground dealers profit.

On the global exchange market, only two types of light small oil are traded: Westhekhas (WTI) and North Sea (Brent). Moreover, the latter is recognized as an indicator of prices for many other types of oil, including the Russian Urals. Attempts to create futures contracts for high -sulfuric oil mixtures, as well as the price indicator for them, have not yet led to success. However, OPEC countries have repeatedly stated that they were ready to use the indicator created by the third party to trade their assets. Omann oil claims to be the role of this standard. The market suits this: Oman is not included in the OPEC, and therefore it will trade in oil without unnecessary restrictions on the part of suppliers.

Unlucky Rebco

Russian oil also claims the role of a new indicator, which is also characterized by high sulfuries. In October 2006, a contract was launched on the New York Exchange for the supply of the Russian oil mixture Rebco (Russian Export Blend Crude Oil). According to the calculations of the Russian government, Rebco trading could determine the prices of Middle Eastern oil. It seems to be a matter of public importance: the transparency of pricing and calculations on supplies will contribute to the replenishment of the treasury taxes. However, so far, in addition to verbal assurances, state support is not felt, and for oil workers, for obvious reasons, it has not caused much enthusiasm. It is only known that all Russian oil companies sent their considerations in writing to the mayors, which intends to hold a special meeting with the oil workers at the end of the quarter. But so far there are no transactions for Rebco.

Competition with a shah

Meanwhile, the Oman government does everything possible to win in the competition with Russian oil. The minister of oil and gas, Oman, Muhammad Ar-Rumhi, has already called the transition to exchange trade in local oil. Last year, he announced that to determine the prices for export products, the Oman government was ready to use the prices of DMI contracts on a daily basis. In November last year, the Oman government agreed to buy a 30 percent package of the Dubai Exchange through its essentially state investment fund. It is configured to a sharp increase in production volumes, for which in the next five years it is ready to invest $ 10 billion in it.

“The launch of the contract is an event, of course, serious,” comments in an interview with Gazeta Sergey Kvartalnov from Expertica (which, in fact, is engaged in the Rebco project). - If liquidity is created and the OPEC countries will accept it as a price indicator and will trade against it, this will mean the end of the Brent era and the emergence of a new universal price indicator. Since Russia has not achieved the emergence of such an indicator based on Russian oil, it will have to compete with OPEC countries, which is much more difficult than competing with Brent. ”

“Investors come to a more liquid market. If the Middle Eastern states sell oil around the world, then the sale of Russian oil goes through the port of Primorsk and is geographically localized. Accordingly, there will be fewer investors interested in buying futures for this variety of oil, ”said Stanislav Kleschev, an analyst at the investment department of Vnesislav, 24. And this means that the Shah project is able to easily bury the political ambitions of Russian politicians to create a Russian oil lighthouse for the whole world.

02/26/2007 / Galina Antonova, the material was published in the newspaper No. 35 dated 02.27.2007.