The futures market of Murban, the UAE's flagship oil grade, reached record trading volumes of 1.5 million contracts in the second quarter of this year, according to the Intercontinental Exchange, also known as Ice.
The volumes traded were equivalent to 1.5 billion barrels of Murban crude, up more than 160 per cent since the start of the year, state news agency Wam reported on Sunday.
About 7.4 billion barrels of Murban crude oil have been traded since the launch of Ice Futures Abu Dhabi (Ifad), on which the contracts trade, and 267 million barrels of Murban have been delivered through the exchange, the report said.
Murban, supplied by Adnoc, is considered one of the lowest carbon-emission crude oils in the world.
It is a premium-grade, light, sweet crude that is popular among Asian buyers, who increasingly dominate the global trade in oil.
Murban exports averaged 1.636 million barrels per day in April after an eight-year high of 1.644 million bpd in February, according to S&P Global Commodities at Sea data.
In April, Adnoc forecast Murban crude volume available for export in April 2025 would be 1.65 million bpd.
The UAE has the capacity to produce 2 million bpd of Murban.
Fujairah port on the UAE's east coast accounts for about 75 per cent of Murban exports, with the rest shipped out from Ruwais port, according to S&P Global.
The Murban futures contract made a debut on the Ifad in March 2021 as the UAE's capital set its sights on becoming a commodities hub.
IFAD, at Abu Dhabi Global Market, is an independent futures exchange for the trade of Murban futures contract derivatives.
Murban crude futures launch - in pictures
The introduction of the Murban futures contract was backed by Adnoc, Ice and nine energy companies – BP, GS Caltex, Impex, Eneos, PetroChina, PTT, Shell, TotalEnergies and Vitol.
The Murban futures contract allows oil from Abu Dhabi to become a freely traded global commodity, filling a void in the trading and pricing of crude from the Middle East.
Contracts traded at the Abu Dhabi exchange are cleared at Ice Clear Europe alongside global benchmarks such as Brent, West Texas Intermediate, Ice Platts Dubai and Ice Low Sulphur Gasoil.
The futures are open for trade 24 hours a day on Mondays and 22 hours a day from Tuesdays to Fridays.
Investors from jurisdictions including the ADGM, the US, Singapore, the UK, Switzerland, the Netherlands, France, Norway, Australia, Japan and South Korea are able to trade on the exchange.
Throughout last month, Murban futures hit a series of record volume trading days, including a record high day of 57,300 contracts traded, equivalent to 57.3 million barrels on June 10, Wam reported.
The average daily volume of Murban futures in June was a record 31,000 contracts, equivalent to 31 million barrels, a statement from Ice said.
Ice’s global commodity markets, including benchmark oil and natural gas contracts, also hit record trading activity in the second quarter of this year with more than 305 million contracts traded, it said.
Ifad is supported by several of Adnoc's trading and upstream partners.
More than 160 participants have traded on Ifad to date from across Asia, the US, Europe and the Middle East, including commercial and financial participants, Ice said.
Murban is part of Ice’s global oil complex covering more than 800 futures and options contracts, centred around Brent which is used to price more than three quarters of the world’s internationally traded crude oil.
If you go...
Fly from Dubai or Abu Dhabi to Chiang Mai in Thailand, via Bangkok, before taking a five-hour bus ride across the Laos border to Huay Xai. The land border crossing at Huay Xai is a well-trodden route, meaning entry is swift, though travellers should be aware of visa requirements for both countries.
Flights from Dubai start at Dh4,000 return with Emirates, while Etihad flights from Abu Dhabi start at Dh2,000. Local buses can be booked in Chiang Mai from around Dh50
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
What can you do?
Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses
Seek professional advice from a legal expert
You can report an incident to HR or an immediate supervisor
You can use the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation’s dedicated hotline
In criminal cases, you can contact the police for additional support
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Kamindu Mendis bio
Full name: Pasqual Handi Kamindu Dilanka Mendis
Born: September 30, 1998
Age: 20 years and 26 days
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Major teams Sri Lanka's Under 19 team
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Citizenship-by-investment programmes
United Kingdom
The UK offers three programmes for residency. The UK Overseas Business Representative Visa lets you open an overseas branch office of your existing company in the country at no extra investment. For the UK Tier 1 Innovator Visa, you are required to invest £50,000 (Dh238,000) into a business. You can also get a UK Tier 1 Investor Visa if you invest £2 million, £5m or £10m (the higher the investment, the sooner you obtain your permanent residency).
All UK residency visas get approved in 90 to 120 days and are valid for 3 years. After 3 years, the applicant can apply for extension of another 2 years. Once they have lived in the UK for a minimum of 6 months every year, they are eligible to apply for permanent residency (called Indefinite Leave to Remain). After one year of ILR, the applicant can apply for UK passport.
The Caribbean
Depending on the country, the investment amount starts from $100,000 (Dh367,250) and can go up to $400,000 in real estate. From the date of purchase, it will take between four to five months to receive a passport.
Portugal
The investment amount ranges from €350,000 to €500,000 (Dh1.5m to Dh2.16m) in real estate. From the date of purchase, it will take a maximum of six months to receive a Golden Visa. Applicants can apply for permanent residency after five years and Portuguese citizenship after six years.
“Among European countries with residency programmes, Portugal has been the most popular because it offers the most cost-effective programme to eventually acquire citizenship of the European Union without ever residing in Portugal,” states Veronica Cotdemiey of Citizenship Invest.
Greece
The real estate investment threshold to acquire residency for Greece is €250,000, making it the cheapest real estate residency visa scheme in Europe. You can apply for residency in four months and citizenship after seven years.
Spain
The real estate investment threshold to acquire residency for Spain is €500,000. You can apply for permanent residency after five years and citizenship after 10 years. It is not necessary to live in Spain to retain and renew the residency visa permit.
Cyprus
Cyprus offers the quickest route to citizenship of a European country in only six months. An investment of €2m in real estate is required, making it the highest priced programme in Europe.
Malta
The Malta citizenship by investment programme is lengthy and investors are required to contribute sums as donations to the Maltese government. The applicant must either contribute at least €650,000 to the National Development & Social Fund. Spouses and children are required to contribute €25,000; unmarried children between 18 and 25 and dependent parents must contribute €50,000 each.
The second step is to make an investment in property of at least €350,000 or enter a property rental contract for at least €16,000 per annum for five years. The third step is to invest at least €150,000 in bonds or shares approved by the Maltese government to be kept for at least five years.
Candidates must commit to a minimum physical presence in Malta before citizenship is granted. While you get residency in two months, you can apply for citizenship after a year.
Egypt
A one-year residency permit can be bought if you purchase property in Egypt worth $100,000. A three-year residency is available for those who invest $200,000 in property, and five years for those who purchase property worth $400,000.
Source: Citizenship Invest and Aqua Properties
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
