JCC (Japan Crude Cocktail) is a weighted average price of crude oil imports into Japan, serving as a benchmark for long-term oil supply contracts and pricing formulas in Asia-Pacific markets. The JCC reflects the average cost of Japan’s crude oil imports from various suppliers and represents actual market conditions for Asian crude oil purchases rather than futures-based pricing.

JCC pricing is particularly important for long-term LNG contracts, where natural gas prices are often linked to crude oil prices through JCC-based formulas. This pricing mechanism has historically provided stability for both buyers and sellers in Asian energy markets, though recent trends favor more gas-on-gas pricing and spot market indexation.

Real-world example: A 20-year LNG supply contract links natural gas prices to JCC with a three-month lag, causing LNG prices to adjust from $12 to $15 per MMBtu following crude oil price increases reflected in the quarterly JCC calculation.