Saint-Petersburg International Mercantile Exchange
A Russian commodity exchange providing organized markets, derivatives, price indices, and over-the-counter transaction registration for energy, timber, agricultural and other commodities.
Last updated August 24, 2026
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Overview
Saint-Petersburg International Mercantile Exchange, commonly known as SPIMEX, is a Russian commodity exchange incorporated in 2008. Its principal activity is the organization of domestic commodity trading, especially in refined petroleum products, crude oil and natural gas. The exchange also supports markets for coal, timber, construction materials and mineral fertilizers, and operates a derivatives section offering both cash-settled and physically settled futures. SPIMEX was established to provide a formal, transparent venue for Russian commodity transactions and to improve the availability of domestic reference prices. Its refined-products section is particularly important: it provides spot trading in gasoline, diesel fuel, jet fuel, fuel oil, petrochemicals and other products, with deliveries made through designated locations under standardized exchange rules. The exchange calculates territorial, regional, national and composite indices based on exchange-traded activity and also uses registered over-the-counter transactions in its market-data methodology. The exchange expanded beyond refined products in stages. Futures on refined products began in 2010, while crude-oil trading was introduced in 2013. Natural-gas and timber sections opened in 2014, followed by further development of gas delivery formats, crude-oil futures, mineral-fertilizer trading and coal trading. The derivatives business includes instruments linked to SPIMEX petroleum-product indices as well as contracts with physical delivery, including Urals crude and ultra-low-sulfur diesel futures. SPIMEX also registers eligible over-the-counter transactions in refined products, crude oil, natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas, coal, timber and mineral fertilizers. This registration function broadens the exchange's role beyond its order-driven markets and supplies transaction data for pricing and index calculation. The exchange distributes market information to regulators, market participants, news organizations, information vendors and research firms. The organization has offices in Saint Petersburg, Moscow and Irkutsk. Its clearing infrastructure is associated with the nonbank financial institution and central counterparty RDC, previously known as SDCO. SPIMEX has cooperated with Russian public authorities, including the Federal Antimonopoly Service and the Ministry of Economic Development, on improving transparency in domestic energy markets. The exchange's importance is closely linked to Russian energy-market policy. Before 2022, government requirements directed oil companies to sell specified portions of several petroleum products through SPIMEX. These measures supported liquidity and helped establish exchange-based domestic reference prices, while also making the venue an important component of Russia's regulated commodity-market infrastructure. In March 2022, the Association of European Energy Exchanges excluded SPIMEX from its membership following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Publicly available reference material describes SPIMEX as continuing to operate as a Russian commodity-market institution, although its international integration has been affected by geopolitical restrictions.
History
SPIMEX was incorporated in 2008 as a Russian commodity exchange focused initially on organized trading in refined petroleum products. Its development reflected an effort to create a more transparent and standardized domestic marketplace for commodities that had traditionally been traded through bilateral and over-the-counter arrangements. From the beginning, the exchange's model combined physical commodity delivery, market-data production and the registration of OTC transactions. Refined products became the institution's core market. SPIMEX standardized contracts and delivery procedures for products supplied from a broad network of designated locations, including major Russian refineries and demand centers. It subsequently developed a family of price indicators covering large geographic regions, national refinery activity and the domestic refined-products market as a whole. These indices were designed to represent actual transaction conditions rather than purely indicative quotations. The exchange added refined-products futures in 2010 and began registering OTC transactions in relevant commodities in 2011. In 2012, SPIMEX indices began serving as underlying assets for futures traded through its derivatives section. Cooperation with the Federal Antimonopoly Service, announced in 2013, focused on improving transparency in crude-oil and refined-products markets. That same year, SPIMEX launched crude-oil trading. Natural-gas and timber markets were added in 2014. Natural-gas trading began on 24 October 2014, initially using designated balancing points around compressor stations. The exchange later introduced day-ahead gas contracts and contracts for delivery during national holidays and weekends. Its gas-market participants included major producers and industrial and utility consumers. Timber trading began on 11 July 2014, with early activity involving coniferous timber from the Irkutsk region and participation by logging companies, forest leaseholders and processors. SPIMEX expanded its market-data and institutional relationships during the middle of the 2010s. In 2016, it agreed to cooperate with Russia's Ministry of Economic Development on greater transparency in natural-gas, crude-oil and refined-products markets. The exchange also launched SPIMEX Urals Crude Futures in 2016, establishing a physically settled Russian crude contract linked to delivery from Primorsk. Mineral-fertilizer trading followed in 2017, and coal trading in 2019. SPIMEX launched ultra-low-sulfur diesel futures on 11 November 2019. Government policy reinforced the exchange's role in the Russian petroleum market. Before 2022, rules required oil companies to sell specified proportions of selected products through the exchange, including gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, residual fuel oil and liquefied petroleum gas. These requirements supported market liquidity and gave SPIMEX a significant role in domestic price formation, while also tying its activity closely to Russia's regulatory framework. The exchange reported substantial refined-products activity in the early 2020s. Refined-products volumes rose to about 27.03 million tonnes in 2021 and approximately 29.13 million tonnes in 2022. In 2022, its derivatives section recorded about 69,326 futures contracts with a stated value of roughly RUB 13.9 billion, while the natural-gas section recorded about 5.7 billion cubic metres. SPIMEX also registered OTC transactions across several commodities and used the resulting data in relevant indices. Russia's invasion of Ukraine changed SPIMEX's international institutional position. Europex excluded the exchange from membership in March 2022. Despite this loss of association membership, the available reference material describes the exchange as continuing its domestic Russian operations. SPIMEX maintains offices in Saint Petersburg, Moscow and Irkutsk, and its clearing arrangements are associated with RDC, a nonbank financial institution acting as central counterparty. Public reference material also records a shareholder decision to change the exchange's abbreviated name from JSC SPIMEX to JSC Petersburg Exchange, but the available material does not specify the year of that decision.
- 2022
Europex membership ended
[1]The Association of European Energy Exchanges excluded SPIMEX from membership in March 2022 after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
- 2019
Coal trading added
[1]SPIMEX added coal trading to its commodity-market coverage and launched ultra-low-sulfur diesel futures on 11 November.
- 2017
Mineral-fertilizer trading added
[1]Mineral fertilizers became one of the commodities traded or registered through the exchange.
- 2016
Urals crude futures launched
[1]SPIMEX introduced physically settled Urals crude futures with delivery connected to the Primorsk export terminal.
- 2014
Natural-gas and timber sections opened
[1]The exchange launched natural-gas trading on 24 October and timber trading on 11 July.
- 2013
Crude-oil trading launched
[1]SPIMEX opened a crude-oil trading section and entered a transparency-cooperation arrangement with Russia's Federal Antimonopoly Service.
- 2012
SPIMEX indices used for futures
[1]SPIMEX indices became underlying assets for futures traded through the exchange's derivatives section.
- 2011
OTC transaction registration begins
[1]SPIMEX began registering over-the-counter transactions in crude oil, refined products, coal, natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas.
- 2010
Refined-products futures introduced
[1]The exchange added futures contracts linked to refined petroleum products.
- 2008
Exchange incorporated
[1]SPIMEX was incorporated in Russia and began developing organized domestic commodity markets, initially centered on refined petroleum products.
Products and positioning
A central Russian venue for organized domestic commodity trading, energy-market price discovery and commodity-market data.
Energy commodities · 2008
Refined Products Section
SPIMEX's central physical market covers domestically traded gasoline, diesel fuel, jet fuel, fuel oil, petrochemicals and other refined products. Contracts use standardized rules and designated delivery points across Russia. The section supports domestic price discovery and supplies transaction data for regional, territorial, national and composite refined-products indices.
Energy commodities · 2013
Crude Oil Trading
The crude-oil section provides organized trading in Russian crude. SPIMEX also registers eligible OTC crude transactions, extending its market-data role beyond exchange trades. In 2022, the exchange reported approximately 519,400 tonnes traded in its crude-oil section.
Energy commodities · 2014
Natural Gas Section
SPIMEX's natural-gas market uses designated balancing points and serves producers, utilities and industrial consumers. It includes regular delivery formats as well as day-ahead contracts and contracts covering weekends and national holidays. The exchange has also supported commercial balancing mechanisms that allow participants to resell unused purchased volumes.
Commodity derivatives · 2010
SPIMEX Derivatives Section
The derivatives section offers cash-settled futures based on SPIMEX refined-products indices and physically settled futures tied to commodities including Urals crude, ultra-low-sulfur diesel and selected domestic petroleum products. Physical delivery is a distinguishing feature of the commodity-based contracts, with performance guaranteed through the clearing-house risk-management system.
Forest and construction commodities · 2014
Timber and Construction Materials Section
The timber market connects logging companies, forest leaseholders and timber processors. Early deliveries included conifer timber from Irkutsk Region. The section also covers construction materials and is intended to broaden the geographic reach and standardized delivery infrastructure for forest and building commodities.
Market data · 2012
Commodity Price Indices
SPIMEX calculates indices from domestic exchange-traded and registered OTC transactions. Its index families include territorial measures for major refinery regions, regional measures for demand centers, national indicators and a composite measure for domestic light refined products. These indices can serve as reference data and as underlying assets for derivatives.
Commodity-market infrastructure · 2011
OTC Transaction Registration
SPIMEX is authorized to register OTC transactions involving refined products, crude oil, natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas, coal, mineral fertilizers and timber. Registered activity supplements exchange trading and contributes to the calculation and distribution of domestic commodity-market information.
Brand decisions
2022
Continuation of domestic commodity-market operations amid international isolationStrategyBackground
Russia's invasion of Ukraine led to international sanctions and the exclusion of SPIMEX from the Association of European Energy Exchanges.
Action taken
SPIMEX continued to operate its Russian commodity sections and market-data functions while losing its Europex membership.
Aftermath
The exchange remained focused on domestic Russian trading and clearing infrastructure, with reduced participation in European exchange-industry structures.
2016
Launch of SPIMEX Urals Crude FuturesProduct launchBackground
Russia lacked a widely established domestic crude benchmark with a physically deliverable futures structure.
Action taken
SPIMEX introduced physically settled Urals crude futures connected to FOB delivery at Primorsk.
Aftermath
The contract became part of SPIMEX's effort to develop Russian commodity benchmarks and expand its derivatives business.
Recent events
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