Russia's president said in his last year's state of the nation address to parliament that Russia, as a leading oil exporting nation, should establish its own oil exchange to trade crude and petroleum products in rubles.
Deputy Economics Minister Kirill Androsov said earlier this week that trading in the Russian Export Blend Crude Oil (REBCO) futures would move from the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) to a new commodity market in St. Petersburg.
"Trading in the REBCO futures will move to St. Petersburg as soon as we register the new commodity exchange," Androsov said.
The new blend, the third crude brand currently trading on the NYMEX, after WTI and Brent, is expected to replace Urals as Russia's price index used for calculating supply prices, export duties and mineral extraction tax.
REBCO is expected to fetch a higher price than Urals, generally priced at a $5-6/bbl discount to Brent, as its quality is much nearer to Western standards.
