Dated Brent Price Assessment Explained (2024)

Brent Benchmark Complex: Evolving necessity

Dated Brent Price Assessment Explained (1)

The Brent Benchmark Complex consists of the world's most important physical and financial crude oil benchmarks.

Instruments in the Brent complex are used around the world in a variety of ways. Dated Brent is not just a bellwether for the oil markets but a price reference in physical term and spot deals daily. National oil companies refer to Brent in their official selling prices every month, governments manage taxes and royalties with it, while the benchmark sits at the heart of floating spot pricing, tender contracts around the world, long-term strategic planning and shorter-term product cracks. Beyond the world of oil, Brent is also an essential component of managing price exposure in other commodity markets, like LNG and pipeline gas, while movements in Brent futures inform the broader understanding of the health of the world economy itself.

The Brent futures market allows fast, easy access for hedging or investment, while physical forwards and weekly contract-for-difference (CFD) swaps help market participants manage their price risk and physical exposure on light, sweet crude in the global markets.

S&P Global Commodity Insights and ICE each understand the importance of changes to the Brent Benchmark Complex. This paper outlines a common set of questions on the evolution of the complex. Commodity Insights and ICE will publish consultation notices through their respective Subscriber Notes and Circulars channels to solicit feedback.

Dated Brent Price Assessment Explained (2)

What is Dated Brent?

Platts Dated Brent is a benchmark assessment by S&P Global Commodity Insights of the price of physical, light North Sea crude oil. The term "Dated Brent" refers to physical cargoes of crude oil in the North Sea that have been assigned specific delivery dates.

Each dated cargo of crude oil is often traded more than once as it makes its way to delivery to refineries -- where crude is transformed into products like gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, and more.

Our analysis of trading activity culminates in the publication of the Platts Dated Brent benchmark --our daily assessment of the price of Dated Brent in the North Sea crude marketplace.

Dated Brent is a critical component of the Brent Complex, which includes the trading of physically delivered oil like Dated Brent and cash BFOE (Brent-Forties-Oseberg-Ekofisk), as well as financially settled derivatives like Brent Futures, Contracts for Differences (CfDs), Dated-to-Frontlines (DFLs) and a variety of other derivatives.

Taken as a whole, the Brent Complex helps those active in the North Sea crude market to manage the flow of crude oil from well-head to refinery, and manage price risk along the way - not just in crude oil, but also for correlated refined oil products, natural gas, gas liquids and condensates.

Price indicators from the Brent Complex are increasingly used as a reference for measuring the value of crude oils all around the world, and often of global economic health itself.

How we assess Dated Brent

We assess the price for dated crude streams in the North Sea - Brent Ninian Blend (from which Dated Brent takes its name), Forties Blend, Oseberg and Ekofisk. Taken together, these four crudes represent a robust supply of approximately 1 million oil barrels per day of production.

The most competitive grade of crude defines the final printed price of our Dated Brent assessment each day.

Our Dated Brent price assessment reflects the tradable, repeatable spot market value of the most competitive grade at 16:30.00 London time precisely.

We publish bids, offers, expressions of interest to trade, and confirmed trades during our Market on Close assessment process every day. This information is summarised in our daily newsletters and is published in full on our real-time information service, Platts Global Alert.

Evolution of Dated Brent: a brief history of major changes

We began assessing Dated Brent in the 1980s, reflecting the value of crude to be delivered between seven and 15 days after the date the price assessment was published. As production volumes of the Brent field decreased, we included other crude oils into our Dated Brent assessment.

Trading has trended further forward in time, and over the years we have moved our assessment periods to keep pace with this trend.

In 2002, we added two more crude grades to our physical Brent assessment process -- Forties and Oseberg. In the same year, we widened the date range reflected in our assessments to 10-21 days forward, in order to better reflect the more forward-looking trading patterns of the North Sea crude market and increase potentially deliverable volumes.

In 2007, we added Ekofisk crude into our physical Brent assessment process, completing what is now known as BFOE.

In 2012, we again widened our assessed delivery period window, this time to 10-25 days forward, increasing the volume deliverable into the assessment window by more than 30%.

In 2015, we widened our assessed delivery period window further, this time to reflect 10 days to a full month-ahead forward, again increasing the volume deliverable into the assessment window by more than a further 30%.

Working with all stakeholders, we are constantly planning for more change to come as the market continues to evolve. We regularly hold methodology forums, technical workshops, webinars and one-to-one meetings to exchange views on the future of Brent.

Dated Brent Price Assessment Explained (2024)

FAQs

What does dated Brent mean? ›

What is Dated Brent? Platts Dated Brent is a benchmark assessment by S&P Global Commodity Insights of the price of physical, light North Sea crude oil. The term "Dated Brent" refers to physical cargoes of crude oil in the North Sea that have been assigned specific delivery dates.

How is Brent crude price calculated? ›

The Brent Index is the average price of trading 600,000 barrels on the 25-day Brent Blend, Forties, Oseberg, Ekofisk (BFOE) market. The index is calculated as the average of the following: The weighted average of first-month cargo trades in the BFOE market.

What is dated Brent futures? ›

Recent Contracts
LastDate/Time
Brent Crude Jan 2024$73.19Jun 12, 2023 2:06 a.m.
Brent Crude Feb 2024$73.03Jun 12, 2023 1:59 a.m.
Brent Crude Mar 2024$72.73Jun 12, 2023 1:59 a.m.
Brent Crude Apr 2024$72.31Jun 12, 2023 12:32 a.m.
6 more rows

What is the meaning of Brent crude price? ›

Brent is the leading global price benchmark for Atlantic basin crude oils. It is used to set the price of two-thirds of the world's internationally traded crude oil supplies. It is one of the two main benchmark prices for purchases of oil worldwide, the other being West Texas Intermediate (WTI).

What is the price of dated Brent today? ›

Oil Price Charts
Futures & IndexesLast% Change
Brent Crude76.61-0.44%(10 Minutes Delay)
Murban Crude77.09-0.01%(15 Minutes Delay)
Natural Gas2.323-0.26%(10 Minutes Delay)
Gasoline2.630-0.44%(10 Minutes Delay)
21 more rows

What is the current dated Brent price? ›

Basic Info. Brent Crude Oil Spot Price is at a current level of 76.61, up from 76.00 the previous market day and down from 125.68 one year ago. This is a change of 0.80% from the previous market day and -39.04% from one year ago.

What is difference between crude oil and Brent? ›

WTI Crude Oil is extracted from fields located in Texas, North Dakota, and Louisiana of the United States. Brent Crude is extracted from the North Sea near Europe; its oil fields include Brent, Ekofisk, Forties, and Oseberg.

Who decides Brent oil price? ›

​Unlike most products, oil prices are not determined entirely by supply, demand, and market sentiment toward the physical product. Rather, supply, demand, and sentiment toward oil futures contracts, which are traded heavily by speculators, play a dominant role in price determination.

Does the US import Brent? ›

Because it has easy access to coastal ports (e.g., extensive pipelines to the coast), Brent oil can move easily to customers around the world. (Brent oil is even imported by some refineries in the U.S. and Canada.)

What did Brent crude futures fall by 4.4% to? ›

Brent crude futures settled down $3.53, or 4.6%, at $73.54 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) was down $3.21, or 4.4%, from Friday's close, to $69.46 a barrel. There was no settlement on Monday because of a U.S. public holiday.

What is the price target for Brent? ›

Brent crude oil is expected to trade at 78.59 USD/BBL by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. Looking forward, we estimate it to trade at 86.08 in 12 months time.

How does Brent crude futures work? ›

The ICE Brent Crude futures contract is a deliverable contract based on EFP delivery with an option to cash settle against the ICE Brent Index price for the last trading day of the futures contract.

What is the highest Brent crude price ever? ›

Historically, Brent crude oil reached an all time high of 147.50 in July of 2008. Brent crude oil - data, forecasts, historical chart - was last updated on June of 2023.

What is the difference between Brent and WTI oil prices? ›

As mentioned earlier in the article, Brent crude is the benchmark used for the wider light oil market – ie Europe, Africa and the Middle East, while WTI is the benchmark for the US light oil market. Other countries often use both Brent and WTI as benchmarks to value their crude oil.

Why is Brent more expensive than crude? ›

Why is Brent crude more expensive than WTI? Simply put, the preference for Brent crude today stems from the fact that it may be a better indicator of global oil prices. Brent essentially draws its oil from more than a dozen oil fields located in the North Sea.

What was the highest price of oil in history? ›

The price of oil reached a peak of c. US$65 during the 1990 Persian Gulf crisis and war. The 1990 oil price shock occurred in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, according to the Brookings Institution.

Who owns Brent crude oil? ›

Production is divided among several international oil companies, with Shell and ExxonMobil holding the largest stakes in the Brent fields, while Chevron and British Petroleum retain large shares in Ninian and Magnus. Other companies with sizeable interests include Total and CNR with many other smaller partners.

How to trade Brent crude oil? ›

One of the easiest and most popular ways to trade Brent oil is with CFDs. A contract for difference (CFD) is a type of contract between a trader and a broker in order to try and profit from the price difference between opening and closing the trade.

What is the Brent crude benchmark? ›

The Brent benchmark is used to price over three-quarters of the world's traded oil, as one of the most liquid crude grades. The waterborne crude oil on which ICE's Brent benchmark is based has access to global shipping, port and storage capacity. It is processed by refiners around the world.

Does the US use Brent crude oil? ›

Brent Crude is the benchmark used for the light oil market in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, originating from oil fields in the North Sea between the Shetland Islands and Norway. West Texas Intermediate is the benchmark for the U.S. light oil market and is sourced from U.S. oil fields.

Why is Canadian crude so cheap? ›

Western Canada Select almost always sells at a discount to WTI, because not all refineries are capable of handling it. It's generally seen to be of lower quality because of its high sulphur content, which makes it a "sour" blend, versus a "sweeter" blend like WTI.

How is the price of a barrel of oil determined? ›

Crude oil prices are determined by global supply and demand. Economic growth is one of the biggest factors affecting petroleum product—and therefore crude oil—demand. Growing economies increase demand for energy in general and especially for transporting goods and materials from producers to consumers.

In which country oil is most expensive? ›

Hong Kong is the most expensive place on Earth to fill up your car. Prices there are $4.32 a litre, substantially more than double the international average.

Who controls world oil prices? ›

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries Plus (OPEC+) is a loosely affiliated entity consisting of the 13 OPEC members and 10 of the world's major non-OPEC oil-exporting nations. OPEC+ aims to regulate the supply of oil to set the price on the world market.

Who produces the cheapest oil? ›

Saudi Arabia has the lowest oil production costs in the world thanks to two strategic advantages: Abundant pools of oil close to the surface and no taxes on production. Because of that, it can make money in almost any oil price environment.

Where does the US get most of its oil? ›

In 2021, Canada was the source of 51% of U.S. gross total petroleum imports and 61% of gross crude oil imports.
  • The top five sources of U.S. total petroleum (including crude oil) imports by percentage share of total petroleum imports in 2021 were:
  • Canada51%
  • Mexico8%
  • Russia8%
  • Saudi Arabia5%
  • Colombia2%

Who is the US largest oil importer? ›

The resulting total net petroleum imports (imports minus exports) were about -1.26 million b/d, which means that the United States was a net petroleum exporter of 1.26 million b/d in 2022. The top five source countries of U.S. gross petroleum imports in 2022 were Canada, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Colombia.

Why does the US export oil instead of using it? ›

It often makes more sense for the refineries in the gulf to export some of their gasoline to Mexico, rather than expensively ship their product all the way to the east coast of the U.S., which gets cheaper gasoline from Europe. oil prices down which keeps prices in the U.S. lower.

What will Brent crude price be in 2025? ›

Fitch assumes a Brent price of $75/bbl in 2024 (old assumption - $65) and $65 in 2025 (old assumption $53/bbl). "Our increased 2024-2025 oil price assumptions reflect our view that it will take longer for prices to moderate due to tightening supply from Russia and Opec+'s cautious approach to supply increases.

Why is Brent falling? ›

Crude oil prices fall amid concerns about a weakening global economy. Crude oil prices are trading at a five-week low amid concerns over the US economy and weak demand in China. Oil benchmark Brent crude closed at $72.61 per barrel on May 4. This was trading at around $85 per barrel a month ago.

What are the most traded crude oil futures? ›

Futures and Options

Gain direct exposure to the crude oil market using CME Group West Texas Intermediate (WTI) Light Sweet Crude Oil futures, the world's most liquid oil contract. WTI Crude Oil futures and options are the most efficient way to trade the largest light, sweet crude oil blend.

What will Brent price be in 2024? ›

Recent Contracts
LastChg
Brent Crude Feb 2024$71.480.41
Brent Crude Mar 2024$71.220.40
Brent Crude Apr 2024$70.780.20
Brent Crude May 2024$70.610.24
6 more rows

What is the forecast Brent oil price for 2023? ›

We expect the Brent crude oil price will increase from $74/b in May 2023 to $79/b in September before declining slightly to average $78/b in the last three months of 2023. We expect the West Texas Intermediate price will follow a similar path.

What is expected target price? ›

A target price is an estimate of the future price of a stock. Target prices are based on earnings forecasts and assumed valuation multiples. Target prices can be used to evaluate stocks and may be even more useful than an equity analyst's rating.

How to calculate crude oil futures? ›

Current Value. If the current price of WTI futures is $54, the current value of the contract is determined by multiplying the current price of a barrel of oil by the size of the contract. In this example, the current value would be $54 x 1000 = $54,000.

What makes oil futures go up? ›

Supply and Demand Impact

As with any commodity, stock, or bond, the laws of supply and demand cause oil prices to change. When supply exceeds demand, prices fall; the inverse is also true when demand outpaces supply.

How many gallons is a crude oil futures contract? ›

NYMEX Brent crude oil futures are traded in units of 1000 barrels (42000 gallons) and contract prices are quoted in dollars and cents per barrel.

How many barrels of oil does the US use a day? ›

In 2022, the United States consumed an average of about 20.28 million barrels of petroleum per day, or a total of about 7.4 billion barrels of petroleum. Learn more: How much of the crude oil produced in the United States is consumed in the United States?

How many gallons of gas are in a barrel of oil? ›

Petroleum refineries in the United States produce about 19 to 20 gallons of motor gasoline and 11 to 12 gallons of ultra-low sulfur distillate fuel oil (most of which is sold as diesel fuel and in several states as heating oil) from one 42-gallon barrel of crude oil.

Which countries produce Brent crude oil? ›

Brent Crude is extracted from the North Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, which is bound by the United Kingdom, Norway, France, Denmark, the Netherlands, Germany, and Belgium. It is extracted as a blend of multiple crude oils, including Brent, Ekofisk, Forties, and Oseberg.

Why is Canadian oil so expensive? ›

A large reason for these expensive prices is due to very strong demands, according to McTeague. “Post-COVID, economies are going to pick up. We use diesel for everything, from heating to fertilizer, all the way up to jet fuel,” he said.

Which type of crude oil is considered to be the highest quality for gasoline? ›

The higher the sulfur content and the heavier the density, the lower quality the crude oil. A lighter density oil with low sulfur content (like West Texas Intermediate (WTI) from Texas) is the highest quality, which means it sells for more money.

Is Brent crude sweet or sour? ›

Brent oil comes from the Scottish Brent and Ninian Systems located in the North Sea. This oil is also light and sweet, with an API gravity of 38.3.

Why is gas so expensive when crude oil is so cheap? ›

While the prices of crude oil and gas typically move in tandem, they're not directly linked. Crude must be processed by oil refineries before it becomes the gas, diesel, and jet-fuel used for travel. The refining process comes at a cost, and that cost is known as the crack spread.

What type of oil does Saudi Arabia produce? ›

We produce five different grades of crude oil. These are: Arabian Heavy, Arabian Medium, Arabian Light, Arabian Extra Light, and Arabian Super Light.

What is this word Brent? ›

Definitions of brent. small dark geese that breed in the north and migrate southward. synonyms: brant, brant goose, brent goose. types: Branta bernicla, common brant goose.

What does Brent mean in Old English? ›

Brent is an Old English given name and surname. The place name can be from Celtic words meaning "holy one" (if it refers to the River Brent), or "high place", literally, "from a steep hill" (if it refers to the villages in Somerset and Devon).

What does Brent mean in forex? ›

Brent crude is the most traded of all of the oil benchmarks, and is defined as crude mostly drilled from the North Sea oilfields: Brent, Forties, Oseberg and Ekofisk (collectively known as BFOE).

What is the meaning of Beld? ›

(beld) adjective. Scot. bald; hairless. Most material © 2005, 1997, 1991 by Penguin Random House LLC.

What does this word say mean? ›

: to state as opinion or belief : declare. : utter, pronounce.

Why is us crude cheaper than Brent? ›

Because of growth in U.S. oil production, there's a glut of oil supply in the U.S. midwest. So WTI now trades at a price “discount” to Brent oil.

Why is crude oil cheaper than Brent oil? ›

Why is Brent crude more expensive than WTI? Simply put, the preference for Brent crude today stems from the fact that it may be a better indicator of global oil prices. Brent essentially draws its oil from more than a dozen oil fields located in the North Sea.

What does Brent mean in German? ›

Brent is derived from the Germanic personal name Brando, a short form of the various compound personal names containing the element brand, which means sword.

What does old boy mean in British slang? ›

noun. 1. often capitalized O&B British : an alumnus especially of a boys' school. : a man who is a member of a long-standing and usually influential clique especially in a professional, business, or social sphere.

What is the old slang term for an Englishman? ›

Britisher. An archaic form of "Briton", similar to "Brit", being much more frequently used in North America than Britain itself, but even there, it is outdated. An equivalent of the word "Engländer", which is the German noun for "Englishman".

Why is Brent important? ›

Key Points. The Brent benchmark is used to price over three-quarters of the world's traded oil, as one of the most liquid crude grades. The waterborne crude oil on which ICE's Brent benchmark is based has access to global shipping, port and storage capacity.

What is the symbol for Brent? ›

Brent Crude (BZ:NMX)

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