55 East 52nd Street

39th Floor

New York, New York 10055

BY ELECTRONIC TRANSMISSION

Submission No. 23-04

August 10, 2023

Secretary of the Commission

Office of the Secretariat

Commodity Futures Trading Commission

Three Lafayette Centre

1155 21

st Street, NW 

Washington, DC 20581

Re: Listing of Commodity Swaps and Related Rule Amendments- Submission Pursuant to

Section 5c(c)(1) of the Act and Regulations 40.2(a) and 40.6(a)

Dear Secretary:

Pursuant to Section 5c(c)(1) of the Commodity Exchange Act, as amended (the “CEA”) and the 

Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the “Commission”) Regulations 40.2(a) and 40.6(a), ICE Swap 

Trade, LLC (“IST” or “SEF”) submits by written certification the terms and conditions for one (1) new 

cash-settled contract (the “Energy Contract”). The Energy Contract will be listed as a permitted contract

for trading on August 14, 2023 (based on an acknowledged filing date of August 10, 2023). The Energy 

Contract is a monthly cash-settled swap.

The contract terms and conditions are set forth in Chapter 13 of the ICE Swap Trade 

Rulebook (“Rules”) and in related amendments to existing Rules, as specified in Exhibit A. The 

underlying cash market analysis for the new Energy Contract is contained in Exhibit B. A copy of the 

revised Rulebook marked to show changes against the Rulebook submitted to the Commission with an 

effective date of August 14, 2023, is attached as Exhibit C, and a clean copy of the revised Rulebook is 

attached as Exhibit D. The SEF is listing the Energy Contracts as noted in the table below:

Rule Code Contract Name

13176 MHA Marine Fuel 0.5% FOB Med Cargoes vs Marine Fuel 0.5% FOB Rotterdam Barges

Swap Balmo

Certifications

IST certifies that the rules and amendments related to the listing of the Energy Contracts comply with the 

requirements of the CEA and the rules and regulations promulgated by the Commission thereunder. IST

has reviewed the Core Principles and has determined that the listing of the Energy Contracts impacts the

following relevant Core Principles:

COMPLIANCE WITH RULES (Principle 2): The terms and conditions of the Energy Contracts are
set forth in Chapter 13 of the Rules, which will be enforced by IST. Trading of the Energy Contracts

is subject to all relevant IST rules which are enforced by the Market Regulation Department. 

SWAPS NOT READILY SUSCEPTIBLE TO MANIPULATION (Principle 3): In accordance with the 

guidelines set forth in Appendix C to Part 38 of the CEA, the Energy Contract should not be readily 

subject to manipulation as it is based on a liquid cash market and widely accepted benchmark as 

demonstrated in the analysis included in Exhibit B. The contract size, listing cycle, quotation basis, 

final settlement and minimum price fluctuation for the Energy Contracts are common amongst related 

contracts listed by other SEFs and DCMs. In addition, the Energy Contracts will be subject to market 

surveillance by IST Market Regulation staff to detect attempted manipulation.

Platts, the administrator of the referenced indices, has established comprehensive rules governing 

assessment prices and price reporting structures that is publicly available, transparent, and widely 

accepted and understood by market participants. The prices included in all of Platts’ indices are 

subjected to a rigorous series of quality control processes. Platts publishes benchmark price 

assessments for liquefied natural gas markets and its price reporting is well known in the industry as 

fair and accurate. The liquefied natural gas indexes Platts publishes are based on original reporting 

that is collected by Platts from actual buyers and sellers. Platts also employs a comprehensive 

compliance review of submissions and its methodologies to ensure the published prices accurately 

reflect physical deals. Platts’ rules, index descriptions and pricing methodology for liquefied natural 

gas is publicly available on its website1. 

MONITOR OF TRADING AND TRADE PROCESSING (Principle 4): All contracts listed for trading by 

IST are subject to prohibitions against abusive trading practices as set forth in Chapter 5 of the IST 

Rulebook. The Market Regulation staff actively monitors all IST markets to detect abusive practices.

ABILITY TO OBTAIN INFORMATION (Principle 5): IST has rules and procedures in place that allow 

for the collection of non-routine data from Participants and Customers. In addition, IST has 

agreements in place with other regulatory, data repository and reporting services. 

TIMELY PUBLICATION OF TRADING INFORMATION (Principle 9): IST will publish on its website 

and distribute through quote vendors contract trading volume, open interest levels, and daily price 

information in accordance with Part 16. IST will also adhere to the reporting requirements as detailed 

in Part 43 and 452 of the Commission’s Rules. Prior to the commencement of trading, the terms and 

conditions for the Energy Contracts will be available on IST’s website. In addition, IST will publish on 

a daily basis the settlement prices, volume, open interest and the opening and closing ranges for 

actively traded contracts.

RECORDKEEPING AND REPORTING (Principle 10): IST has rules and procedures in place to 

require Participants and Customers to maintain records of their trading and provide for the recording 

and storage of the requisite trade information sufficient for the Market Regulation Department to detect 

and prosecute customer and market abuses.

DISCIPLINARY PROCEDURES (Principle 13): Pursuant to Chapters 8 of the IST Rulebook, the 

Market Regulation Department has the authority to sanction, suspend or expel members and market 

participants that violate SEF rules.

1 https://www.spglobal.com/platts/plattscontent/_assets/_files/en/our-methodology/methodologyspecifications/lngmethodology.pdf

2 17 CFR Part 43 Real-Time Public Reporting of Swap Transaction Data and 17 CFR Part 45 Swap Data 

Recordkeeping and Reporting Requirements.
DISPUTE RESOLUTION (Principle 14): Participants may arbitrate claims arising from trading of IST’s 

contracts in accordance with Chapter 9 of the IST Rulebook. Such arbitration is mandatory for claims 

by customers against SEF Participants and for claims by SEF Participants against each other. NonParticipants with claims arising from trading of IST’s contracts may also opt for SEF arbitration.

IST not aware of any substantive opposing views expressed with respect to the rules and the 

amendments. IST further certifies that concurrent with this filing, a copy of this submission was posted on 

its website, which may be accessed at: (https://www.theice.com/swap-trade/regulation).

If you have any questions or need further information, please contact the undersigned at (913) 

323-8500 or Robert.Laorno@theice.com.

Sincerely,

Robert J. Laorno

Chief Compliance Officer

cc: Division of Market Oversight
Exhibit A

Rule 13176. Reserved Marine Fuel 0.5% FOB Med Cargoes vs Marine Fuel 0.5% FOB 

Rotterdam Barges Swap Balmo

Contract Description: A balance of the month cash settled swap based on the difference 

between the Platts daily assessment price for 0.5% FOB Med Cargoes Marine Fuel and the 

Platts daily assessment price for 0.5% FOB Rotterdam Barges Marine Fuel

Contract Symbol: MHA

Contract Size: 1,000 metric tonnes

Unit of Trading: Any multiple of 1,000 metric tonnes

Currency: US Dollars and cents

Trading Price Quotation: One cent ($0.01) per metric tonne

Last Trading Day: Last Trading Day of the contract month

Final Settlement Price: In respect of final settlement, the Floating Price will be a price in USD 

and cents per metric tonne based on the average of the “$/mt” quotations appearing in the 

“Platts European Marketscan” under the heading “Marine Fuel” for “0.5% FOB Med Cargoes” and 

the average of “$/mt” quotations appearing in the “Platts European Marketscan” under the 

heading “Marine Fuel” for “0.5% FOB Rotterdam barge” for each business day (as specified 

below) in the determination period.

Contract Series: Up to 60 consecutive months, or as otherwise determined by the SEF

Final Payment Dates: Fourteen (14) Calendar Days after each settlement date via wire transfer 

or Federal funds

Business Days: Publication days for Platts European Marketscan

Other Terms: To be confirmed directly between the parties in their full form of contract. The 

terms reflected in such contracts shall be controlling.
EXHIBIT B

I. FOB Mediterranean Fuel 0.5% Cargoes vs FOB Rotterdam Fuel Oil 0.5% Barges

This contract is a monthly balance of a previously launched 2023 ICE contract.

The underlying cash markets that underpin the 0.5% Mediterreanean/North derivative contracts is the assessment 

of physical Marine 0.5% FOB Mediterranean Cargoes and 0.5% FOB Rotterdam Barges.

The FOB Mediterranean Marine Fuel 0.5% cargo assessment is established using a freight differential to the CIF 

Mediterranean assessment, using a flat rate based on a basket of typical tanker routes, multiplied by the daily 

Worldscale assessment for the 30,000 Metric Tonnes (“mt”) CrossMediterranean route assessed in Platts Dirty 

Tankerwire. 

II. Underling Cash Market for Marine Fuel 0.5% FOB Mediterranean Cargoes vs Marine Fuel 0.5% 

FOB Rotterdam Barges Balmo Swap

The Platts Market on Close Assessment process (MOC) is the tool used by Platts to determine and assess the 

physical market. The Methodology and Specifications Guide for petroleum assessments is contained here: 

https://secure.ice/?https://www.spglobal.com/platts/plattscontent/_assets/_files/en/our-methodology/methodologyspecifications/europe-africa-refined-products-methodology.pdf The details on FOB Mediterranean Marine Fuel 

0.5% cargoes and FOB Rotterdam Marine Fuel 0.5% Barges can be found on page 20.

III. Cash Market Analysis for Marine Fuel 0.5% FOB Mediterranean Cargoes vs Marine Fuel 0.5% FOB 

Rotterdam Barges Balmo Swap

Since ICE launched the underlying contract in March 2023, the market immediately saw trades and order by a

handful of established market participants. Further, this contract’s Future equivalent was launched in June 2023 

and has seen an average of 10 orders per month since then.

The relationship between the Mediterranean and NWE market when it comes to cargo arbitrages creates a 

dynamic between prices in both regions. As a result, participants monitor both assessments to create secure 

trading vehicles to help stabilize prices in both markets. Platts has received overwhelming feedback from market 

participants in the 3.5% fuel version of these products with a desire to participate in the 0.5% fuel market as well.

The underlying products both have experienced active markets. Between September 2022 through March 2023, 

the FOB Mediterranean Fuel Oil 0.5% averaged 21 orders a month while the FOB Rotterdam Fuel Oil 0.5% 

averaged nearly 500 orders per month. A similar product, FOB Mediterranean 3.5% vs FOB Rotterdam 3.5% 

averaged 30 orders per month during this same period.