Dated Brent, Starting Next Year, Will Include WTI -- February 14, 2022

Break, break: earlier I said I was unable to find a reason for sudden surge in price of oil. Here it is, from two hours ago, Reuters: oil hits 7-year highs as Ukraine fears Russian attack imminent.

That reports says WTI rose $2.36, or 2.5%, to settle at $95.46 after hitting $95.82, the highest since September, 2014.

As folks may recall, Ukraine's president has said all along he did not expect an actual invasion, and the US Pentagon is still suggesting publicly that Putin has not made a final decision.

It now looks like February 16, 2022, is D-Day.

Flight radar 24:

• Chief-One-One, a USAF B-52, is now back at Brize Norton, UK.
• the amount of C-17 traffic  -- huge USAF cargo plane -- into and out of western Ukraine is quite astonishing for anyone paying attention; right now I see at least two C-17s returning to England;
  
• tracking C-17 activity in eastern Europe is the equivalent of tracking Domino pizza deliveries to the Pentagon
• as usual, CNN seems to have a better handle on the situation than the US Pentagon. 
• it's look more and more like a West Ukraine / East Ukraine will emerge when this is all over.
  

Now, back to regular programming. From SPGlobal:

I do not yet understand the mechanics of this, how this will actually be accomplished, whether it will be a physical addition of Texas oil to Brent oil, or whether it will be a "paper exercise."

This is a huge, huge story and one that would not be taken lightly if some small group of very, very influential oil traders weren't concerned about losing lots of money. "Someone" is arguing "we" need to "save" Brent to maintain order in the global oil market. It suggests to me some very rich and influential British oil traders are running scared. Stay tuned.

Platts said the proposal to include a non-North Sea crude in the light sweet oil benchmark for the first time since its launch in 1987 envisages the change taking effect for cargoes loading from June 2023.

Dated Brent is seen as a bellwether for global oil markets, referred to by national oil companies in official selling prices and used in pricing other energy commodities such as LNG. The low-sulfur characteristics of North Sea crude often -- though not always -- mean oil from elsewhere trades at a discount to Dated Brent, particularly where refiners face pressure to produce low-sulfur fuels.

The inclusion of WTI Midland — a crude oil typically produced from onshore US shale plays — would extend across the complex of Brent-related trades, including Cash BFOE and related instruments, Platts said.

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For The Archives
Super Bowl LVI

The best thing I did not do yesterday? I did not watch the Super Bowl. Not one minute of it.

I knew that somehow my tuning in would be disrupted at some point during the game. I can't watch the Super Bowl if I can't enjoy it without interruption. For the record, I hate "super bowl parties." We  had them when we were stationed in Alabama; I hated the parties. I attended, assuming we were going to watch a football game. LOL.

And even if the commercials are the best thing since sliced bread I knew they would drive me nuts.

I was not disappointed. I got a phone call about 7:30 p.m. CT or some such time, and the individual asked me if I was watching the game. I was not. Fortunately. Apparently the game was nearing its end when the individual called. I checked Google and saw that the Rams were behind by four points but were going to win anyway. There was like two minutes left in the game.

And as I mentioned to my wife and the caller, there will be another Super Bowl next year. Maybe next year I will check into an undisclosed location to watch the game.

I was rooting for the Bengals, of course, but when I saw the quarterback show up in this outfit, I knew it was all over for the Bengals. All he needed was a Joe Namath fur coat to complete the ensemble. How the Kansas City Chiefs did not end up in the Super Bowl this year is beyond me.

On another note, I received a text message from a person I did not know and about the same time from my older daughter telling me that I had won the Super Bowl pool -- the "square lottery." You know, the one where there is a ten-by-ten grid, you pick your square and then after all squares are picked, they put numbers across the top for one team and numbers along the side for the other team, and who ever has the box that has those numbers, wins the pool. 

The individual texting me wanted to know how to get my "winnings" to me. LOL. I figured it was a Nigerian scam until my older daughter says they will send her the money and she will give it me tomorrow. I told her to keep it. The fun is winning; not actually collecting.

The pool I played had a 10x10 and each square cost $50. I bought four squares. One hundred squares at $50 / square. One can do the math. LOL.  

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Lost In Translation

I have no idea where my younger daughter -- the one with two-year-old twins -- saw this sign. If it was on a walk with the boys, or somewhere from the internet, but it's her humor, so I assume she wrote the note: