This will be the first Indonesian delivery point in Platts’ Singapore assessment process, the agency said in a note to subscribers, and will be in addition to approved loading points outside of Singapore such as Malaysia’s Tanjung Langsat, Tanjung Bin and a few floating storage units.
Platts, a unit of S&P Global, proposes to publish offer prices for oil loading from Karimun on a free-on-board (FOB) Indonesia basis.
The move is expected to offer traders more flexibility in loading cargoes and improve market liquidity, traders said.
Oiltanking Karimun is a joint venture between Oiltanking, which is a subsidiary of Hamburg-based Marquard & Bahls , and trader Gunvor Group.
The Karimun terminal, with a total storage capacity of 730,000 cubic metres, was commissioned in mid-2016 and is aimed to serve the growing demand for oil products in Asia, according to Oiltanking’s website.
It is supported by four jetties and is able to accommodate vessels up to 320,000 deadweight tonne.
With Singapore unable to commit more land to commercial storage to serve trading companies, Indonesia and Malaysia have stepped up their investments in oil and chemicals storage infrastructure.
Platts, which provides Asian benchmark assessments for most oil products traded in the region, introduced a FOB Straits benchmark in July, 2015 to include ports in Malaysia.