When Gary King first came to Dubai, as an oil exploration engineer for Schlumberger in 1983, the emirate was a small desert outpost without a hint of its current grandeur. “I got around in a helicopter and a four-wheel drive,” the University of Londoneducated geologist recalls. Today, King, 48, chief executive of the Dubai Mercantile Exchange -- a joint venture with the New York Mercantile Exchange -- is hoping to shake up the world oil market by launching the first futures contract on sour crude oil. Such crudes, principally from the Middle East, are gaining a dominant share of the oil market. The region’s importance was underscored by last month’s news -- just weeks before the DME’s contract is scheduled to begin trading, on May 1 -- that Halliburton’s headquarters and CEO will move to Dubai. As King says, “The timing for this contract could not be better.”
