HOUSTON, Oct. 16, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Platts, a leading global energy, petrochemical and metals information provider and top source of benchmark price references, announced it will launch on October 16, 2012, the first independent daily price assessment of crude oil produced from the Eagle Ford, Texas shale formation. The new assessment is called the Platts Eagle Ford Marker.

"Not only are shale crudes an important supply source as the U.S. continues its path toward less dependence on foreign oil imports, but they are also critical to U.S. refiners as they export more light petroleum products," says Esa Ramasamy, regional director of Americas oil price reporting at Platts. "We're pleased to play a key role in bringing price transparency to this important, booming supply source."

The announcement of the new Eagle Ford shale assessment comes as Platts Commodity Week, a series of industry and market outlook forums, gets underway in Houston. This is the second Commodity Week hosted by Platts; the first was held in India in late August.

The new assessment, Platts Eagle Ford Marker, will reflect the value of a median 47-API Eagle Ford crude barrel, based on the crude's product yields and Platts product price assessments, adjusted for U.S. Gulf Coast logistics.

"We're taking a pioneering approach to an unconventional oil," says Suzanne Evans, senior manager for the Americas price group at Platts. "This methodology provides a products yield-based assessment for Eagle Ford crude of normal properties. This will help the market establish a benchmark value for Eagle Ford, despite the stream's inherent variability."

Simultaneously, Platts is also launching a daily average of Eagle Ford crude postings* from midstream companies to serve as a basis of comparison, and a differential for this daily postings value relative to the Platts Eagle Ford Marker.

The Eagle Ford Marker assessment will be published in real-time news service Platts Global Alert, an end-of-day data feed Platts Market Data, and news and price reports Platts Crude Oil Marketwire, North American Crude Wire and Platts Oilgram Price Report.

BENTEK Energy, Platts' market analytics division, estimates that rising production in both Eagle Ford and the Bakken shale plays could boost overall U.S. crude production by as much as 3.5 million barrels per day by 2016 - 1.6 million barrels per day for Eagle Ford alone. The Eagle Ford shale play extends across south Texas and into Mexico, and contains substantial deposits of oil, condensate, natural gas liquids, and natural gas.

Numerous infrastructure developments including additional pipeline and expanded rail capacity have been launched in recent years to support shale oil's growing production. Additional projects from the shale play areas have been proposed, which will strengthen the importance of shale oil on the U.S. Gulf Coast, where the bulk of U.S. refining capacity is located.

Platts launched the industry's first independent shale-related oil price assessments in 2010, with its Platts Bakken Blend ex-Clearbrook and Platts Bakken Blend ex-Guernsey price references, which reflect Bakken Blend crude injected into pipelines at Clearbrook, Minnesota, and Guernsey, Wyoming.

Platts' shale-related price assessments also include natural gas. In October 2012, Platts introduced assessments for natural gas at locations near the prolific Marcellus and Utica shale basins. The assessments are known as, Platts Millennium Pipeline, East Receipts, and Platts Texas Eastern Transmission's Zone M-2, named for two increasingly important Northeast natural gas market hubs.

Platts' price assessments are underpinned by highly structured methodologies, drawing on Platts' century-plus experience in price discovery processes, and adhere to quality protocols that maintain the integrity of the assessments and avoid distortions.

For full details on the methodology and specifications for the new Eagle Ford Marker assessment, visit this website link: http://www.platts.com/IM.Platts.Content/MethodologyReferences/MethodologySpecs/eaglefordmarker.pdf

Platts publishes more than 12,000 price indexes, references and benchmarks on a daily basis across commodities in energy, petrochemicals, metals and biofuels. For more information about oil, natural gas, and Platts, visit the website at www.platts.com.

*A posting is an official selling price provided by the supplier of oil

About Platts: Founded in 1909, Platts is a leading global provider of energy, petrochemicals and metals information and a premier source of benchmark prices for the physical and futures markets. Platts' news, pricing, analytics, commentary and conferences help customers make better-informed trading and business decisions and help the markets operate with greater transparency and efficiency. Customers in more than 150 countries benefit from Platts' coverage of the carbon emissions, coal, electricity, oil, natural gas, metals, nuclear power, petrochemical, and shipping markets. A division of The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE: MHP), Platts is headquartered in New York with approximately 900 employees in more than 15 offices worldwide. Additional information is available at http://www.platts.com.

About The McGraw-Hill Companies: McGraw-Hill announced on September 12, 2011, its intention to separate into two companies: McGraw-Hill Financial, a leading provider of content and analytics to global financial markets, and McGraw-Hill Education, a leading education company focused on digital learning and education services worldwide. McGraw-Hill Financial's leading brands include Standard & Poor's Ratings Services, S&P Capital IQ, S&P Dow Jones Indices, Platts energy information services and J.D. Power and Associates. With sales of $6.2 billion in 2011, the Corporation has approximately 23,000 employees across more than 280 offices in 40 countries. Additional information is available at http://www.mcgraw-hill.com/.

CONTACT
Kathleen Tanzy
212-904-2860
Kathleen_tanzy@platts.com

SOURCE Platts

SOURCE: Platts