Argus Responds to Iosco Consultation on Price Reporting Agencies

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Mar 01, 2012, 04:00 ET

LONDON, March 1, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Global energy price reporting organisation Argus notes the recent Iosco consultation on oil price reporting agencies. The consultation is part of Iosco's work in responding to a request from the G20 at the Cannes Summit in November 2011 to prepare, in collaboration with the International Energy Agency (IEA), the International Energy Forum (IEF) and Opec, recommendations on price reporting agencies by mid-2012.

Argus is always happy to work with regulators, governments, international agencies and indeed the energy industry itself to help establish and maintain the highest standards of price reporting. Argus prides itself on its clear, consistent and transparent methodologies, which are constructed in consultation with the market to which they refer.

Argus Media chairman and chief executive Adrian Binks said: "Argus has already contributed to a G20 mandated study of independent price reporting organisations and we are happy to continue to provide information and work with regulators and the industry to help ensure better understanding of how the physical markets are assessed. We know that our customers have a great deal of confidence in our reporting standards and in the accuracy of our pricing and we welcome the opportunity to engage with a wider community."

Argus' methodologies are freely available at www.argusmedia.com/methodology.

A strong compliance and controls framework, overseen by Argus' global compliance officer, ensures that staff adhere to the methodologies and that the highest professional standards are maintained across Argus' offices.

Argus was founded in 1970 and has built a reputation for providing independent and robust assessments that identify commodity prices in physical markets. This work brings transparency to illiquid energy markets that would otherwise be opaque. Many energy companies, governments, tax authorities and international organisations use Argus prices to benchmark their activities. Argus' rapid growth reflects the confidence that the industry has in the quality and representative nature of its price reporting.

Argus has not seen an advanced copy of Iosco's consultation document and looks forward to reviewing Iosco's material and in due course submitting a formal response to the consultation.

For more information contact:
Seana Lanigan in London
+44 20 7780 4272, [email protected]

About Argus

Argus Media is a leading provider of price assessments, business intelligence and market data on the global crude, oil products, natural gas, electricity, coal, emissions, bioenergy, fertilizer and transportation industries. It is headquartered in London and has offices in Houston, Washington, New York, Portland, Calgary, Johannesburg, Dubai, Singapore, Tokyo, Beijing, Sydney, Moscow, Astana, Kiev, Santiago and other key centres of the energy industry. Argus was founded in 1970 and is a privately held UK-registered company.