Oman's crude futures contract delayed until at least March

Singapore: The Dubai Mercantile Exchange (DME) has delayed the launch of its much-anticipated Oman crude oil futures contract until at least March as it fine-tunes some of the details, industry sources said yesterday.

The contract, the first sour crude oil futures to have the backing of a Middle East producer, was earlier reported to be poised for a launch around mid-February, although the DME has never publicly set a date for the start of trade.

"Now we're hearing March," said one industry source who has been in contact with officials from the DME, a joint venture between the New York Mercantile Exchange, Oman and Dubai.

A second Singapore-based trade source said the launch could be delayed further as the DME addresses concerns over the physical delivery process, a crucial element if the Oman contract is to succeed where a half-dozen other sour crude futures in Asia, Europe and the US have failed over the past two decades.

Industry sources say the DME has taken a careful approach in preparing the groundwork for the contract, pushing back the planned launch in an effort to ensure it attracts enough liquidity in the first months to guarantee its success.