Cargo coordination
- Coordination with shipping lines, terminals and storage facilities
- Support for tanker-based crude and product movements
- Laycan, nomination and berth scheduling discipline
Commodity desk
Crude and refined product movement on standard international terms
Priced against published benchmarks, with shipment coordination, documentary control and cargo continuity handled as a single accountable scope.
Trading platform
Import, export and commodity movement coordination
Documentary control
- Bills of lading and certificates of origin
- Certificates of quantity and quality
- Independent inspection records and ullage reports
Commodity coverage
- Crude oil cargoes against published benchmark pricing
- Refined products to recognised specification standards
- Petrochemical feedstocks and elemental sulphur
Risk visibility
- Documentary credit and payment-instrument structuring
- Counterparty screening before engagement
- Timing, continuity and demurrage exposure control
Crude benchmarks & pricing
The reference structure against which cargoes are priced
| Benchmark | Contract basis | Terms |
|---|---|---|
| ICE Brent Crude Futures | 1,000 bbl per contract | Priced in US dollars and cents per barrel; minimum fluctuation US$0.01/bbl. Trading ceases on the last business day of the second month preceding the contract month. EFP delivery available, cash-settled against the ICE Brent Index. |
| NYMEX WTI Light Sweet Crude | 1,000 bbl per contract | Minimum price fluctuation US$0.01, equal to US$10 per contract; physically settled at Cushing, Oklahoma. Over one million contracts trade daily with approximately four million contracts of open interest. |
| Platts Dubai | ≈3.5 mn b/d basket volume | Assessment of Dubai crude loading through the month of assessment. Alternative deliverable grades: Oman, Upper Zakum, Al Shaheen, Murban. Assessed via Market on Close, 16:30 Singapore time. |
| North Sea BFOE | ≈750,000 b/d benchmark volume | The physical volume underpinning the Brent benchmark, materially smaller than the Dubai basket it is often compared against. |
| Grade | API | Sulphur |
|---|---|---|
| Basrah Light | 33° | 2.74 wt% |
| Basrah Medium | 29° | 3.00 wt% |
| Basrah Heavy | 24° | ≈4.05 wt% |
Iraq introduced Basrah Medium in January 2021, splitting it off from Basrah Light to better align contracted specifications with delivered cargo quality. Delivered API can differ: Basrah Medium loaded at 27.8–28.7° in January–February 2021.
Sources: ICE · CME Group · S&P Global Platts · Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, April 2021
Product specifications
Quality parameters that govern acceptance and price
| Parameter | Limit |
|---|---|
| Sulphur content | 10.0 mg/kg max, since 1 January 2009 |
| Cetane number | 51.0 min |
| Cetane index | 46.0 min |
| Density at 15 °C | 820 – 845 kg/m³ |
| Flash point | above 55 °C |
| Viscosity at 40 °C | 2.00 – 4.50 mm²/s |
| Water content | 200 mg/kg max |
| Total contamination | 24 mg/kg max |
| FAME content | 7.0 % V/V max |
Marine fuel: the IMO 2020 regime
- A global 0.50% m/m sulphur cap, in force since 1 January 2020, set by MARPOL Annex VI, Regulation 14, reduced from 3.50% m/m.
- Within Emission Control Areas the limit is 0.10% m/m: Baltic Sea, North Sea, North American area and US Caribbean Sea area.
- The Mediterranean Sea became a SOx Emission Control Area on 1 May 2025.
- Fuel quality is specified to ISO 8217, with ISO/PAS 23263:2019 addressing VLSFO quality.
- A carriage ban, MEPC.305(73), in force 1 March 2020, prohibits carrying non-compliant fuel oil for combustion on board.
Sulphur determination: test methods
- ASTM D2622: total sulphur in liquid petroleum products by wavelength-dispersive XRF.
- ASTM D7039: sulphur in petroleum products by monochromatic wavelength-dispersive XRF.
- ASTM D5453: total sulphur in light hydrocarbons and motor fuels by ultraviolet fluorescence.
Sources: EN 590 · IMO, "IMO 2020: cutting sulphur oxide emissions" · ASTM International
Incoterms & documentation
Where risk passes, who pays freight, and what proves delivery
The ICC publishes Incoterms 2020 as eleven named rules in four groups. Bulk energy cargoes are transacted almost entirely within the F, C and D groups.
FCAFASFOB
Seller loads the buyer's vessel
Under FOB the seller places the goods on board the vessel nominated by the buyer at the named port of shipment.
Intended for sea transport; the ICC does not recommend FOB for containerised goods.
CFRCIFCPTCIP
Seller pays freight, risk transfers at loading
Under CFR the seller pays freight to the named destination but risk transfers once the goods are loaded on board. Under CIF the seller additionally takes out marine insurance.
DAPDPUDDP
Seller delivers to the destination
Under DAP the seller delivers the goods, ready for unloading, at the named place of destination.
Used where the buyer requires delivered-in-market pricing.
EXW
Seller's obligation ends at its premises
Ex Works. The buyer carries all subsequent cost and risk.
Rarely used for bulk energy cargoes.
Documentary set
- Bill of lading: original, and switch BL where the trade structure requires it
- Certificate of origin
- Certificate of quantity and quality
- Weight certificate and independent inspection report
- Ullage report at load and discharge
Payment & credit
- Irrevocable letters of credit and standby letters of credit
- Documentary collection where the relationship supports it
- Governed internationally by ICC UCP 600
Independent inspection
- Quantity and quality certificates from recognised bodies including SGS, Bureau Veritas and Intertek
- Determination at both load port and discharge port
Source: ICC official Incoterms 2020 rules and UCP 600
Compliance & screening
The counterparty controls that precede any cargo
Every counterparty, vessel and payment route is checked against the applicable published lists before a transaction proceeds.
United States
OFAC SDN List
The US Treasury's primary sanctions screening list. OFAC sanctions prohibit US persons from transacting with blocked or SDN-listed parties.
European Union
EU Consolidated List
The EU consolidated financial sanctions list, published alongside the EU Sanctions Map, covering restrictive measures by programme and jurisdiction.
Financial crime
FATF Recommendations
The 40 Recommendations on anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorist financing: the international reference for KYC and beneficial-ownership diligence.
Practice
Applied controls
- Counterparty and beneficial-ownership identification before engagement
- Vessel and voyage screening prior to nomination
- Documented audit trail retained for each transaction
Sources: US Treasury OFAC · EU Sanctions Map (EEAS) · FATF