Enterprise, ONEOK Extend WTI Crude Fee Waiver to 2028
Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), a leading global provider of technology and data, announced today that Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (EPD) and ONEOK, Inc. (OKE) have extended their fee waiver agreement for transferring crude oil delivered through ICE’s Midland WTI futures contract (HOU). This arrangement will continue until December 31, 2028, providing enhanced flexibility for crude oil market participants.
The announcement comes at a time when the U.S. crude oil market is experiencing a significant shift. More crude producers, refiners, and exporters have started to move their pricing and hedging activities away from the traditional WTI Cushing basis in favor of ICE Midland WTI (HOU). According to Jeff Barbuto, Global Head of Oil Markets at ICE, the transition reflects growing demand for pricing based on Midland WTI, with physical deliveries of ICE Midland WTI having been twice as large as those for the WTI Cushing contract in 2024.
“By extending the fee waiver through 2028, we’re providing the market with an additional incentive to adopt ICE Midland WTI as a benchmark for U.S. crude oil,” said Barbuto. He noted that new price assessments by key price reporting agencies have been launched to price North American crude grades as differentials to HOU, further supporting this shift.
The fee waiver agreement is structured to benefit customers who take a futures position in HOU and wish to select a preferred delivery terminal. If the buyer’s selected terminal is not chosen, they can transfer crude oil between the two eligible terminals—ECHO (Enterprise Crude Houston) and MEH (ONEOK East Houston)—at no additional cost. This waiver applies to both standard deliveries and transactions executed through ICE’s Exchange for Physical (EFP) and Alternative Delivery Procedure (ADP) mechanisms.
In addition to providing flexibility for physical delivery, the waiver facilitates greater liquidity and market efficiency. If the buyer executes an EFP or ADP transaction at a non-preferred terminal, they can still transfer the barrels to the preferred terminal without incurring the usual transfer fee. Currently, this transfer fee stands at 10 cents per barrel for other transfers between the ECHO and MEH terminals. By eliminating this cost, ICE hopes to attract more participants and promote the use of Midland WTI as a leading pricing benchmark.
ICE’s Midland WTI futures market, which includes HOU, has seen substantial growth in recent years. In 2024, over 82 million barrels were delivered through ICE’s exchange delivery mechanism for HOU. EFP transactions, in particular, have become increasingly popular, offering customers flexibility in the timing and location of their crude deliveries. In total, 5.5 million HOU futures contracts were traded in 2024, with an average daily volume of 21,000 contracts.
This surge in HOU trading is part of a broader trend in the oil market, with companies such as Continental Resources switching a portion of their Permian Basin production to be priced off of HOU, rather than WTI Cushing. As the use of HOU continues to grow, additional market participants are recognizing its importance as a benchmark for U.S. crude oil pricing.
To further cement the role of HOU in global oil pricing, the price reporting agency Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, recently launched a daily price assessment for Midland WTI as a differential to HOU. This assessment, effective from January 22, 2025, underscores the increasing prominence of Midland WTI in global pricing mechanisms. General Index has also introduced a suite of price assessments for all North American crude grades, now priced as differentials to HOU, signaling a broader shift away from WTI Cushing.
ICE’s Midland WTI and Enterprise, ONEOK Extend WTI Crude Fee Waiver to 2028 futures contract offers various benefits to market participants, including time spreads and inter-commodity spreads with other key contracts such as Brent, WTI Cushing (Domestic Sweet), and ICE Murban. These products allow customers to manage price risk between different crude oil locations and grades. Additionally, ICE provides margin offsets for HOU contracts when paired with other oil contracts cleared on the platform. These offsets, which can reach as high as 98%, enable customers to optimize their margin efficiency across over 800 oil contracts, including Enterprise,ICE Brent, ICE WTI, ICE Dubai, and NY Harbor RBOB Gasoline.
As the energy markets continue to evolve, ICE remains a central hub for risk management, offering the world’s most liquid energy markets. In 2024, a record 1 billion energy derivatives contracts were traded on ICE,Enterprise including 655 million oil futures and options contracts, setting a new milestone for the platform.
The extension of the fee waiver between Enterprise Products Partners and ONEOK represents another step toward enhancing the U.S. Gulf Coast as a major hub for crude oil pricing and trading. By providing additional incentives for customers to migrate their pricing to ICE Midland WTI,Enterprise, ONEOK Extend WTI Crude Fee Waiver to 2028 the waiver will help strengthen the position of HOU in the global energy market.
The partnership between ICE, Enterprise, and ONEOK reflects a shared commitment to supporting the growth of the oil and energy markets. With the extension of this fee waiver, market participants can take advantage of greater flexibility and lower costs when executing physical crude oil transactions, further boosting the role of ICE Midland WTI in setting the benchmark for U.S. crude prices.
About Intercontinental Exchange (ICE)
Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE: ICE) is a global leader in financial technology and data services, providing mission-critical workflow tools to help customers across major asset classes. The company operates some of the world’s largest markets, including the New York Stock Exchange, and offers a range of products for energy, environmental, and financial markets. ICE’s platforms are designed to increase transparency and efficiency, helping customers manage risk and capitalize on opportunities.
About Enterprise Products Partners L.P.
Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE: EPD) is a leading provider of integrated energy services, offering a range of transportation, storage, and processing services for natural gas, NGLs, crude oil, and petrochemicals. The company operates an extensive network of pipelines, storage facilities, and processing plants across North America.
About ONEOK, Inc.
ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE: OKE) is a leading midstream service provider, operating a vast network of natural gas and NGL pipelines across the U.S. ONEOK delivers critical services to its customers in the energy sector, supporting the movement of energy resources through its pipeline systems.
