The Dubai Mercantile Exchange Ltd (DME) today announced recent developments in the creation of a new commodity exchange that will initially develop and trade a Middle East Sour Crude Futures contract in the heart of the world's largest hydrocarbon province.

The DME aims to meet the growing market need for price discovery of Middle East Sour Crude whilst simultaneously addressing the time zone gap between Europe and Asia by providing a hub for the trading of energy futures, options and other products.

Amongst these key recent developments are:

The naming of an eight-member Board of Directors comprising of senior executives from the joint venture partners - Dubai Holding and New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX)

Plans to adopt an electronic trading platform

The launch of an international marketing drive to commence at the Cambridge Energy Research Associates (CERA) Conference in Houston, Texas in February 2006.

The DME Board consists of the Chairman Ahmad Sharaf, Senior Vice President of Dubai Energy & Healthcare and Tatweer; Deputy Chairman Fadel Al Ali, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer of Dubai Holding; NYMEX President James E. Newsome; Soud Ba'alawy, Chief Executive Officer of Dubai Investment Group; Rashed Al Ansari, Principal Executive of Dubai Holding; NYMEX Executive Committee Member Scott Hess; and NYMEX board members Stephen Forman and John McNamara.

The DME Board has approved the implementation of an electronic trade matching engine. The arcade trading forum will be physically located in the Dubai International Financial Center (DIFC), a free trade zone.

These and other developments will be communicated to the industry and key market participants as the DME launches its international marketing drive in February. This drive will commence in Houston at the world's premier conference on the future of energy, which is organised by CERA and attended by the world's leading energy executives and policy makers. DME's participation at CERA marks the first in a series of initiatives to inform the marketplace of the DME's progress and the benefits it will bring to a global customer base.

Commenting on today's announcement, DME Chief Executive Officer, Gary King, said: "We are pleased with the progress we are making and the positive feedback that we have received from the market since the announcement of the joint venture in June 2005.

"With the appointment of such an experienced board, a strong senior management team in place and growing industry consensus that there is a significant opportunity for the DME and its products and services, we are confident of success."

He added: "The establishment of an exchange and the securing of a new Middle East Sour Crude Futures contract is a complex process. However, in line with the guidance that we have given our potential customers,we expect to meet our stated goal of a launch in the fourth quarter of 2006."