DUBAI, June 7, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

The Dubai Mercantile Exchange (DME), the leading energy futures exchange in the Middle East, today announced the addition of Owain Johnson as the Chief of Products and Services to the strategic management team of the Exchange.

Owain joins DME from CME Group, where he spent the previous four years as Executive Director in Singapore, covering the Asian energy and commodity markets. Prior to that Owain spent 10 years as an energy market analyst in the UK and South America, working for a number of high profile companies. A regular speaker at international energy conferences, Owain holds a Masters' Degree from Cambridge University.

DME's Chairman Ahmad Sharaf said:

"I am pleased to announce the appointment of Owain Johnson as DME's Chief of Products and Services, and welcome him to the team. Owain's experience in the Asian energy and commodity markets and his knowledge of the global markets is invaluable and will certainly contribute towards achieving DME's goals and objectives. His addition to the team underscores the Exchange's strategy of focusing more attention on the very important Asian markets, which are experiencing rapid growth in oil production and consumption."

The move follows the DME's shareholder restructuring, which was completed in February of this year. At that time CME Group increased its stake to 50% and pledged a greater commitment to the DME with more assistance in helping to build the Exchange's profile in Asia. This latest news is an example of how the strengthened relationship between the two exchanges will allow DME to draw on the expertise of CME Group in its bid to drive volumes and secure its status as the benchmark for pricing oil destined for East of Suez markets.

Owain Johnson, who will join DME on Aug 6, said:

"I am thrilled at the opportunity to further expand on the growth of the Oman oil contract as the benchmark contract for the East of Suez markets. I believe my experience working with and understanding the needs of customers in Asia will help the team execute our goal of growing volumes on the DME, which have hit record levels in recent months."

Since the beginning of 2012, DME has welcomed new members and shown a significant increase in volumes. Q1 2012 volumes were 57% ahead of Q1 2011 and in April the Exchange announced it had traded more than three million contracts - equivalent to three billion barrels of oil - thereby securing DME Oman's status as the largest physically delivered crude oil contract in the world.

About the DME

The Dubai Mercantile Exchange Limited (DME) is the premier international energy futures and commodities exchange in the Middle East, providing a financially secure, well-regulated and transparent trading environment. The DME is majority owned by core shareholders CME Group, the Oman Investment Fund (OIF) and Dubai Holding. Global financial institutions and energy trading firms including Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Shell, Vitol and Concord Energy also have equity stakes in the DME.

The exchange has developed and trades the DME Oman Crude Oil Futures Contract along with related swaps contracts, addressing the growing market need for price discovery of sour crude oil destined for East of Suez markets, while simultaneously bridging the time-zone gap between Europe and Asia.  Launched in June 2007, DME Oman is the largest physically delivered crude oil futures contract in the world.

The DME is a fully electronic exchange, and its contracts are listed on the CME Globex® platform, the world's leading electronic trading platform, providing access to the broadest array of futures and options products available on any exchange. The DME is regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) and all trades executed on the exchange are cleared through and guaranteed by NYMEX (a member of CME Group), which is regulated by the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and is a  Recognized Body by the DFSA.

For the latest trading volumes on the DME, please visit: http://www.dubaimerc.com  

Historical DME trading data can be found at: http://www.dubaimerc.com/historical.aspx  

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SOURCE DME