Ecuador launches 'eco' gasoline fuel based on Argus ethanol price

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May 15, 2015, 11:20 ET

HOUSTON, May 15, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- President Rafael Correa of Ecuador has issued a decree that orders the gradual national roll out of a 10pc ethanol blend in gasoline, using a price index published by global energy and commodity news and price reporting agency Argus.

Ecuador will calculate the price of the new fuel using the Argus US Gulf coast ethanol assessment, which is published daily in Argus Americas Biofuels.

The wholesale price of the new blend — called Ecopais — will be calculated based on the Argus ethanol price plus delivery costs from the US Gulf coast to Ecuador and a K factor of 18¢/liter.

The Ecopais plan is aimed at reducing Ecuador´s growing high-octane gasoline imports, which are blended with locally produced low-octane gasoline to make 87-octane and 93-octane gasoline.

"We are delighted that Ecuador has chosen to base its new ethanol mandate on Argus price assessments, in recognition of our clear methodology and benchmark status in global biofuels markets," Argus Media chairman and chief executive Adrian Binks said.

A number of Latin American countries have adopted Argus-related pricing in oil and energy markets. The Ecopais announcement follows last year's decision by state-owned oil company PetroEcuador to price its crude exports against the ASCI™ benchmark — Argus' volume-weighted average of US deepwater sour crude deals.

Argus biofuels price assessments are widely used in physical and derivative contracts around the world. Argus' transparent price assessment methodology has been increasingly adopted throughout the Americas and globally. Argus price assessments are used by major energy producers and consumers as price references in long-term supply contracts, and by market participants for portfolio mark-to-market, counterparty exposure management, derivatives and a wide range of investment and market analysis purposes.

Request more information on Argus' ethanol prices and market coverage.

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About Argus Media
Argus is an independent media organization with more than 700 full time staff. It is headquartered in London and has offices in each of the world's principal commodity centres. Its main activities comprise publishing market reports containing price assessments, market commentary and news, and business intelligence reports that analyse market and industry trends.

More than half of Argus employees are commodity journalists who specialise in reporting news and price information relating to physical energy and related commodity markets. They operate according to a rigorous Editorial Code of Conduct and a compliance and ethics policy that align with best journalistic practice, including the avoidance of conflicts of interest.

Argus is a leading provider of data on prices and fundamentals, news, analysis, consultancy services and conferences for the global crude, oil products, natural gas, electricity, coal, emissions, bioenergy, fertilizer, petrochemical, metals and transportation industries. Data provided by Argus are widely used for indexation of physical trade. Companies, governments and international agencies use Argus information for analysis and planning purposes. Argus has 20 offices globally, including London, Houston, Washington, New York, Calgary, Rio de Janeiro, Singapore, Dubai, Beijing, Tokyo, Sydney, Moscow, Astana and other key centres of the commodity industries. Argus was founded in 1970 and is a privately held UK-registered company.

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