of Dubai and Oman as the benchmark for sales to the Far East (WTI and Brent futures prices are used for exports to the Atlantic Basin). In July 2007, a potential new mechanism arose in the form of the Dubai Mercantile Exchange, which offers futures contracts in Omani crude. Whether the DME will be successful, and whether Omani futures prices will be adopted by producers and buyers as a benchmark, remain to be seen. Canadian Crude Edmonton Par and Western Canadian Select (WCS) "are benchmarks [sic] crude oils for the Canadian market. Both Edmonton Par and WTI are high-quality low sulphur crude oils with API gravity levels of around 40°. In contrast, WCS is a heavy crude oil with an API gravity level of 20.5°." The Canadian Crude Index (CCI) serves as a benchmark for oil produced in Canada. It allows investors to track the price, risk and volatility of the Canadian commodity. The CCI provides a fixed price reference for Canadian crude oil and provides an accessible and transparent index to serve as a benchmark to build investable products upon, and could ultimately increase its demand to global markets. Contracts Because of its excellent liquidity and price transparency, the contract is used as a principal international pricing benchmark. The first futures contracts on crude oil were traded in 1983, with the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) and the New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex) both attempting to take advantage of the government's de-regulation of crude oil. CBOT's initial contracts had delivery problems, so customers abandoned it for Nymex. Crude oil became the world's most actively traded commodity, and the NYMEX Division light sweet crude oil futures contract becoming the world's most liquid form for crude oil trading, as well as the world's largest-volume futures contract trading on a physical commodity. Additional risk management and trading opportunities are offered through options on the futures contract; calendar spread options; crack spread options on the pricing differential of heating oil futures and crude oil futures and gasoline futures and crude oil futures; and average price options. The contract trades in units of 1,000 barrels, and the delivery point is Cushing, Oklahoma, which is also accessible to the international spot markets via pipelines. The contract provides for delivery of several grades of domestic and internationally traded foreign crudes, and serves the diverse needs of the physical market. See also Argus Sour Crude Index (ASCI)