Bakken oil on the spot market rose $1.25 to $103.81 a barrel at 11:03 a.m. New York time, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Its premium to West Texas Intermediate, the benchmark U.S. crude, surged to $6.50 a barrel on Sept. 10, the highest level in almost a year, as refineries on the East and West coasts gained more access to it through rail shipments.This is the second time that I am aware of that Bakken has sold at a premium to WTI.
On a related note: I get a kick out of this story. Someone recently wrote that crude-by-rail was the last resort; the reader stated that pipeline was the preferred way to ship. We are seeing the benefits of flexibility that rail offers.
A huge "thank you" to the reader for alerting me to this article.
