Russia is the world's second largest producer of crude oil and also one of the world's top oil exporters. Russian export blend crude oil (REBCO) is a medium gravity sour crude that accounts for exports of approximately 4 million barrels per day into the Atlantic Basin or to other nearby refining markets.

The New York Mercantile Exchange, Inc., the world’s largest energy marketplace, has developed a proposed REBCO futures contract in collaboration with Expertica Ltd.

The expected benefits of a REBCO futures contract are continuous price discovery, market transparency, and financial protection against the risk of counterparty default.

The contract will trade in lots of 1,000 barrels and will provide for physical delivery at the Baltic Sea port of Primorsk which operates year-round. The contract will also provide a dependable pricing basis for crude shipped via pipeline or from other ports of export.

The contract will trade electronically on the CME Globex® electronic trading system, the electronic trading platform for the New York Mercantile Exchange.