Muscat – The physical deliveries of Oman crude oil on the Dubai Mercantile Exchange (DME) recorded a sharp increase during the first half of 2023.

DME, the premier international energy futures exchange in the Middle East, delivered 106mn barrels of Oman crude via its exchange delivery mechanism in the first six months of 2023. This was an increase of 18% from the 90mn barrels delivered in the same period of 2022, according to a statement issued by DME.

The DME also recorded a 15% increase in total trading volume during the first half of this year as compared to the same period a year ago. DME Oman front-month trading volumes increased from 361mn barrels in the first six months of 2022 to 415mn barrels for the same period in 2023, the exchange said.

The DME noted that Oman crude oil contract continued to attract a diverse range of participants from around the world, underscoring its status as the main crude oil benchmark in the East of Suez market.

Raid al Salami, managing director of DME, said that the first half of 2023 has been exceptional for the Dubai Mercantile Exchange.

He said, “Our unwavering dedication to transparency and customer service has driven our strong performance. As we move forward, we remain committed to providing our participants with the tools and opportunities they need to navigate the ever-changing energy landscape. We remain optimistic about the remainder of 2023. We expect to build upon the same momentum and to continue to deliver value to our stakeholders.”

DME Oman crude oil futures are a physically settled contract that is a core Middle East crude pricing benchmark. The contract’s daily pricing is utilised by the Middle Eastern national oil companies (NOCs) to price oil exports from the Middle East to Asia and acts as a fundamental indicator for crude oil supply-demand in Asia.

The Middle East NOCs from Oman, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain and Dubai all use DME Oman pricing as part of 5.5mn barrels of crude that is exported to Asia each day.

Recently, Oman’s Ministry of Energy and Minerals sold a cargo of 2mn barrels of Omani crude via the DME Auctions platform.

The barrel cargo of November-loading Oman crude was awarded at a premium of $0.21 per barrel over the November 2023 official selling price of Oman crude, as stated by the DME.