中东催生炼油业新型定价机制

Group 1 - The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member countries are expanding refining capacity to derive more value from fossil fuel resources, with refining capacity increasing by one-third since 2017, reaching 10.5 million barrels per day [1] - Gasoline production in the Gulf region has risen significantly from 1.7 million barrels per day to nearly 2.4 million barrels per day, with gasoline exports doubling to 654,000 barrels per day [1] - The traditional pricing mechanism based on Singapore market prices is becoming less relevant as Singapore now accounts for only 7% of the Gulf's gasoline exports, prompting the need for a new pricing mechanism to better reflect local market fundamentals [1] Group 2 - The new pricing mechanism called "MEBOB" has been introduced, which corresponds to the European "EBOB" and the American "RBOB," positioning the Middle East as a new oil trading hub [2] - MEBOB aims to reflect the value of Gulf refined products and is seen as a recognition of the structural changes in the global energy market [2] Group 3 - The UAE has initiated the Murban crude oil trading to compete with Brent and WTI, launching Murban crude futures contracts to establish an alternative benchmark for Middle Eastern crude [3] - Murban crude is characterized by its low sulfur content of 0.78% and an API gravity of 39.9 degrees, with a significant infrastructure project underway to enhance its export capabilities [3] - A large underground storage facility is being constructed in Fujairah, with a total capacity of 42 million barrels, representing the largest of its kind globally, and is expected to be operational after delays due to the pandemic [3] Group 4 - The trading volume of Murban crude futures has surged, with the second quarter of 2024 seeing a record trading volume of 1.5 billion barrels, more than double the growth rate from the beginning of the year [4] - June 2024 set new trading records with an average daily trading volume of 31 million barrels and a single-day peak of 573,000 contracts, indicating Murban crude's emergence as a globally influential pricing benchmark [4]