The US-based exchange group has appointed RJO's Jamal Oulhadj as the president of ICE Futures Abu Dhabi
Intercontinental Exchange has appointed Jamal Oulhadj, the former chief of US broker RJ O’Brien in the Middle East, to run its new oil exchange in Abu Dhabi.
The US exchange group said Oulhadj, whose appointment is subject to regulatory approval, will be the first president of ICE Futures Abu Dhabi, the energy exchange that ICE plans to launch in the first half of this year.
ICE Futures Abu Dhabi (IFAD), which is backed by nine of the world’s largest energy trading firms, will host the world’s first futures contract based on Abu Dhabi National Oil Company’s (ADNOC) Murban crude oil.
The Oulhadj hire is a key step for IFAD and comes less than four months after ICE cut a deal with the Abu Dhabi to build an energy market in the Gulf state’s international financial centre.
Oulhadj was most recently the chief executive officer of RJ O’Brien (MENA) Capital Limited based in Dubai. He spent 14 years at the Chicago-based broker in various roles including chief risk officer and chief operating officer.
Oulhadj, who will move to Abu Dhabi to take up his new role, has over 25 years’ experience from broker Refco and CME Group, the main rival to ICE.
ICE, which runs exchanges in the US, Europe and Asia, said in November it will start trading the world’s first futures contract based on ADNOC Murban crude oil in the first half of 2020.
The Atlanta-based exchange also said nine of the world’s main energy trading firms had taken minority stakes in the exchange. Those firms are: BP, GS Caltex, INPEX, JXTG, PetroChina, PTT, Shell, TOTSA (Total) and Vitol.
ICE chief exec Jeffrey Sprecher said in November: “With the launch next year of ICE Futures Abu Dhabi, Murban futures will sit alongside the most significant global oil benchmarks, providing the opportunity for the first time for a much larger group of participants to trade and hedge Murban in a regulated, transparent and accessible venue.”
ADNOC Group CEO and UAE minister of state, His Excellency Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, said in November: "The launch of ICE Futures Abu Dhabi further reinforces Abu Dhabi’s status as a global energy hub, and supports ADNOC’s continued transformation into a more modern and progressive energy company.”
IFAD is ICE’s first market in the Middle East and contracts traded on the exchange will be cleared through London-based ICE Clear Europe.
IFAD and ICE Clear Europe are working to secure the necessary regulatory approval to launch before the end of June this year.
