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David Martinez
Senior Director, Commodity Solutions
Crude and Refined
S&P Global Platts
This year we celebrate a few important anniversaries. We are in the middle of the commemorations for the ‘Year of the 50th’, marking 50 years since the formation of the UAE. It has also been five years since Platts started pricing refined oil products at Fujairah, and since the Fujairah Oil Industry Zone began providing weekly oil inventory statistics.
In the spirit of one of the four pillars for the celebration of the UAE’s Golden Jubilee, in this edition of the Fujairah magazine, we reflect on the journey of Fujairah to become a major trading hub and recent market events.
Unwavering Partnership
Fujairah and Platts have used this opportunity to take stock of their partnership. The relation built on openness, collaboration and a shared vision for Fujairah remain strong.
Since I became involved in the Platts- Fujairah project almost three years ago, I have witnessed first-hand and from the inside how the collaboration between Platts and Fujairah has developed and enabled the market to trade effectively and with confidence. And in that regard, we will continue to expand our market reporting offering through price assessments and the free distribution of fundamental data.
The Platts and Fujairah leadership look forward to more opportunities to engage with market participants and continue working towards our common goals.
Riding the Waves
In the spirit of reflection, this edition of this magazine also looks back at the oil markets over the last year. The featured report by Dan Colover gives a comprehensive and well-summarised overview of what has been a very dynamic period, characterized by a strong but very nervous recovery. Moreover, it highlights how Fujairah can provide the markets with flexibility and optionality to avoid short-term and disruptive squeezes thanks to its state of the art infrastructure and strategic location.
But we are not just looking back to revel in our achievements. As the sayings go, we must appreciate our history to understand the present and shape the future. The special report by Surabhi Sahu on the decarbonization of shipping puts the spotlight on this sector and its role in the climate change conversations. It is fascinating to watch a whole ecosystem of industries competing and cooperating while testing all possible combinations of fuels, propulsion, and exhaust gas cleaning systems, trying to identify and pick the winning combination. I have sympathy for an industry that is trying to modernize at record speed while under tremendous stress due to ongoing demands on the supply chains.
Here is to Many More Years
I am often asked how I feel working on a segment of the commodities markets seemingly on its way out. And I remind my inquisitors that it might take a relatively long time for the world to stop depending on oil and the products of its refinement across all applications. Furthermore, so much infrastructure has been developed over the last 100 years that at least for a while and in some cases, the most cost-effective solution will continue being the combustion of fossil fuels but limiting the harmful effect of emissions. Meanwhile, there is a healthy and dynamic market that needs serving. And I am happy and honoured to be working with Fujairah to be part of the solution. So here’s to many more years of growth and successes.
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