Platts: Terminal, Floating Storage Now in Pricing Process

New delivery points to be included from Sept 25. Fuel oil storage tankers anchored at Tanjung Pelepas, Johor.

Oil pricing agency Platts said on Monday it will include gasoil deliveries to a terminal on Pulau Seraya in Singapore and two fuel oil delivery points in southern Malaysia in its price assessment process for Asian oil products in late September.

The move is expected to offer traders more flexibility in loading cargoes and improve market liquidity, traders said.

Following positive feedback from the industry to its proposal in August that gasoil deliveries to the Pulau Seraya Power Station Terminal be included in its price assessment, Platts will go ahead with the move effective Sept. 25, it said in a note to its subscribers.

Platts, a unit of McGraw Hill Financial Inc, provides Asian benchmark price assessments for most oil products traded in the region.

Apart from terminals in Singapore, Platts also recognises Malaysia's Pasir Gudang, Tanjung Langsat, Tanjung Bin, Pengerang and a few floating storage units in nearby waters for its Singapore price assessment process.

The Pulau Seraya terminal has four berths and an overall storage capacity of 835,000 cubic metres, of which 180,000 cubic metres is set aside for clean oil product storage, Platts said.

At one-metre tide, the approaching draft is about 12.6 metres and is able to accommodate Aframax and partially-laden Suezmax-sized vessels, it added.

Platts will also include floating storage units the Speranza and Jade Palms tankers as additional delivery points in its free-on-board (FOB) Singapore fuel oil assessment process from Sept. 25, the company said in a separate note to subscribers.

The very large crude carrier (VLCC) Speranza is operated by Vitol Asia and the VLCC Jade Palms is operated by Itochu Singapore, Platts said. Both vessels are anchored at Tanjung Pelepas in Johor in southern Malaysia.

Reporting by Jessica Jaganathan