Murban was much-hyped at launch
Murban’s long journey only beginning
There will be no immediate promotion into the super league of global crude benchmarks for the Middle East’s latest challenger
It has now been just over a month since exchange Ice and Abu Dhabi’s Adnoc listed their heavily trailed Murban crude futures contract on the Ice Futures Abu Dhabi (Ifad) oil exchange. Media attention in the run-up to launch was more substantial than for most fledgling instruments. Some commentators provocatively suggested that Murban could be a substitute for Brent or even possibly WTI. Others posited that Murban could reduce Opec market power and upend Middle East oil pricing. After its first month of trading, has the contract lived up to the hype? It is perhaps worth highlighting, in the context of the key takeaways of Murban’s first month of trading, why the contract was launched in the f
Also in this section
27 February 2026
LNG would serve as a backup supply source as domestic gas declines and the country’s energy system comes under stress during periods of low hydropower output and high energy demand
27 February 2026
The assumption that oil markets will re-route and work around sanctions is being tested, and it is the physical infrastructure that is acting as the constraint
27 February 2026
The 25th WPC Energy Congress to take place in tandem as part of a coordinated week of high-level ministerial, institutional and industry engagements
27 February 2026
The deepwater sector must be brave by fast-tracking projects and making progress to seize huge offshore opportunities and not become bogged down by capacity constraints and consolidation
