HOUSTON, Feb. 27, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Platts, a leading global provider of energy and commodities information, this week launched a new price assessment that reflects the value of West Texas Intermediate Midland crude oil at the Magellan East Houston Terminal (MEH).

Known as Platts WTI MEH, the assessment is the latest in a suite of evolving physical market price references designed to reflect crude oil spot market developments in the Houston area.

U.S. crude oil markets are experiencing a surge in storage, terminal and crude oil pipelines, leading to the emergence of new trading centers and Platts is working with the industry to address the need for new and relevant price markers. The Platts WTI MEH assessment addresses industry requests for a new price marker for light, sweet crude oil in the U.S. Gulf Coast, stemming from the increase in spot trading at the Magellan East Houston terminal.

"The surge in light, tight oil production in recent years has prompted the emergence of new trading patterns and significant changes to existing crude oil flows within the United States," said Dave Ernsberger, Platts global editorial director of oil.

The Platts WTI MEH assessment is built on the Platts Market-on-Close (MOC) methodology, a structured, highly transparent price assessment process based on the principle that price is a function of time. The MOC process in oil identifies bid, offer and transaction data by company and results in a time-sensitive, end-of-trading-day daily price assessment. Details can be found on the methodology and specifications page on Platts.com.

Platts WTI MEH complements the Platts Light Houston Sweet (LHS) assessment, launched in July 2013, which represents the value of oil delivered not only out of Magellan East Houston terminal but also out of the Enterprise Crude Houston (ECHO) and Oiltanking Houston (OTI) terminals.

"In recent months we have seen a rapid increase in the volume of WTI Midland crude trading in Houston," said Richard Swann, Platts editorial director of oil, Americas. "This market has matured to the point where it now clearly has its own fundamentals, well beyond those of traditional WTI, often more linked to supply, demand and storage developments in Cushing, Oklahoma. We believe Platts WTI MEH will serve as one of the most relevant price references for crude oil producers, refiners and traders."

Other recent additions to Platts' suite of oil price references include price assessments for crude oil from the Bakken shale formation in North Dakota and Eagle Ford in southern Texas.

The Platts WTI MEH assessment reflects crude oil with an American Petroleum Institute (API) gravity ranging from 36-44 degrees and maximum 0.45% sulfur content. API gravity is a measure of how heavy or light a grade of crude oil is compared to water.

Platts WTI MEH assessments are published in real-time service Platts Global Alert, as well as Platts Crude Oil Marketwire, Platts Oilgram Price Report and Platts North American Crude and Products Scan.

For more information on oil, visit the plats website at www.platts.com.

About Platts: Founded in 1909, Platts is a leading global provider of energy, petrochemicals, metals and agriculture 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 biofuels, carbon emissions, coal, electricity, oil, natural gas, metals, nuclear power, petrochemical, shipping and sugar markets. A division of McGraw Hill Financial (NYSE: MHFI), Platts is based in London with more than 1000 employees in more than 15 offices worldwide. Additional information is available at www.platts.com.

About McGraw Hill Financial: McGraw Hill Financial, a financial intelligence company, is a leader in credit ratings, benchmarks and analytics for the global capital and commodity markets. Iconic brands include: Standard & Poor's Ratings Services, S&P Capital IQ, S&P Dow Jones Indices, Platts, CRISIL, J.D. Power and McGraw Hill Construction. The Company has approximately 18,000 employees in 30 countries. Additional information is available at www.mhfi.com.

SOURCE Platts

SOURCE: Platts