Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. said it planned to replace the retroactive official selling price for its Murban crude with a forward pricing system referenced to a market-based futures contract, with implementation targeted around the second quarter of 2020. ADNOC said the change would provide a transparent price marker that customers and the market could use to price, trade and hedge crude requirements.
The company presented the pricing reform as part of its broader Marketing, Supply and Trading strategy. This included expanding shipping through ADNOC Logistics and Services, increasing storage capacity including a 10% stake in terminal operator VTTI, and establishing trading operations through ADNOC Trading for crude and ADNOC Global Trading, a joint venture with ENI and OMV for refined products.
ADNOC also tied the pricing change to plans for a new Abu Dhabi futures exchange built to support the Murban contract. Murban is a key Abu Dhabi export grade, and the futures-based pricing framework was later implemented through ICE Murban Crude Futures on ICE Futures Abu Dhabi, which launched in March 2021, with ADNOC moving Murban’s official selling price to reference the contract in June 2021.