The Deals:
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 sell-back 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".