Platts initiates review of crude oil loadings from Qatari ports

SINGAPORE / Reuters

Oil price agency S&P Global Platts, a unit of S&P Global Inc, said on Tuesday it has initiated with immediate effect a review of the deliverability of crude oil loading from Qatari ports.
The move follows major Arab nations cutting commercial and diplomatic ties with Qatar. During the review period, and until further notice, Al-Shaheen crude oil loading from Qatar may not without mutual agreement between buyer and seller be nominated upon the convergence of crude partials contracts trading during its pricing process, the company said in a note to subscribers.
Buyers and sellers may mutually agree to alternate loadings of Al-Shaheen cargoes, but sellers should not impose this, Platts said in an emailed statement with the subscriber note.
Al-Shaheen, a medium-sour Qatari crude, is one of the types that participants in the Platts crude oil pricing assessment may nominate when they have traded 20 partials contracts, or the equivalent of 500,000 barrels of oil, which is the most commonly traded cargo size.
Platts will continue to assess and publish independent values for other Qatari-loading crude during the review, Platts said. The review does not immediately impact existing nominations for cargoes loading in June and July against trades previously reported in the Platts pricing process, known as the market-on-close (MOC).
“This review has been initiated because market participants have notified Platts that certain ports in the Persian Gulf, including the key bunkering location of Fujairah, put in place restrictions on vessels that have recently called, or are due to call, into Qatar ports,” it said.
“It is typical in the Gulf to co-load VLCCs in combinations that include crude oil from Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE and Oman. As such, restrictions on vessels calling into Qatar and associated uncertainty could impact
the inherent value of crude loading from Qatar, including Al-Shaheen,” it added.