As a Clearing Member, Advantage Futures will guarantee the financial performance of trades carried out by its customers on the DME. All DME market participants are required to maintain an account with a DME Clearing Member. All trading in DME contracts is cleared through CME Clearing, a division of CME Group.

Advantage Futures was founded in 2003 and since then it has become one of the world's leading clearing firms. Advantage has processed over 2.9 billion futures contracts since launch and the firm processed 296 million contracts last year alone. Advantage, which is headquartered in Chicago, is expanding globally, making it an obvious step for the company to apply for a DME Clearing Membership.

DME has set a number of records in recent months. Average daily volumes (ADV) in the Oman crude oil contract rose by around 50% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2014 and regularly surpassed 10mn barrels per day of trading.

Christopher Fix, Chief Executive Officer of DME, said: "I am excited to welcome Advantage Futures as a DME Clearing Member. Any futures exchange is only as strong as its clearing members and so I am very happy to see a highly respected futures brokerage like Advantage join the Exchange. DME has lofty ambitions and we are pleased to have the assistance of our new partners Advantage as we push forward."

Joe Guinan, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Advantage Futures, said: "Advantage Futures is delighted to join DME as a Clearing Member. Advantage is committed to providing its clients fast, reliable routes to as many markets as possible and we are excited about the growth potential of DME Oman crude oil futures. All of the team at Advantage remains committed to meeting our clients' evolving needs through superior technology, responsive risk management, customizable back office operations and highly personalized client services."