MGRM committed to sell, at prices fixed in 1992, certain amounts of petroleum every
month for up to 10 years. These contracts initially proved to be very successful since it
guaranteed a price over the current spot. In some cases the profit margin was around $5
per barrel. By September of 1993, MGRM had sold forward contracts amounting to the
equivalent of 160 million barrels. What was so unique about these deals was that the vast
majority of these contracts contained an "option" clause which enabled the counterparties
to terminate the contracts early if the front-month New York Mercantile Exchange
(NYMEX) futures contract was greater than the fixed price at which MGRM was selling
the oil product. If the buyer exercised this option, MGRM would be required to pay in
cash one-half of the difference between the futures price and the fixed prices times the
total volume remaining to be delivered on the contract. This option would be attractive to
a customer if they were in financial distress or simply no longer needed the oil. The sellback
option was not always an option, because MGRM sometimes amended its contracts
to terminate automatically if the front-month futures price rose above a specified "exit
price".