Platts Introduces New India Oil Price Assessments
By By Vivek Dev | 27 Aug 2009
A division of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Platts, which is a leading global energy and metals information provider, has introduced a series of new oil price benchmarks for the Indian oil markets.
The Mean of Platts West India Netbacks, or MOPWIN, will help meet a critical need for reliable and transparent price information for oil products being exported from India to world markets. The price benchmarks were launched on 1 June, 2009 and are now available for use by Indian oil companies, international trading companies and other interested parties.
An India-specific benchmark will help in reflecting the value at which petroleum products would be exported from India. Quoting the benchmark, Indian exporters can significantly increase Indian trading activity, creating a market similar to the markets in Singapore and Dubai.
The MOPWIN assessments for jet kerosene, 95 octane gasoline, and three grades of gasoil (10 parts per million (ppm) sulfur, 500 ppm sulfur and 2500 ppm sulfur) are derived by deducting freight costs from the respective assessments for the products in Singapore, while MOPWIN naphtha is derived by deducting shipping costs from Japan's benchmark cargo market.
Exports of petroleum products account for the largest foreign exchange earnings for India. Net product exports of petroleum products have almost doubled from around 9.38 million metric tonnes (mt) in fiscal year 2004-05 to nearly 18.13 million mt in 2008-09, and are poised to continue climbing.
''Hence, there was a demand for better benchmarks both from the government in India and the exporters," said Vandana Hari, editorial director, Asia News, Platts, addressing the Platts Forum in Mumbai on 26 August.
