Thursday -- Back To The Bakken

Locator: 46753B.

WTI: up 1.71%; up $1.36; trading at $81.05.

Friday, March 15, 2024: 115 for the month; 174 for the quarter, 174 for the year
39247, conf, Whiting, S-Bar Laurel 5393 34-1 4B,
38101, conf, BR, Stafford 11-34MBH,

Thursday, March 14, 2024: 113 for the month; 172 for the quarter, 172 for the year
None.

RBN Energy: trading evolves as US crude exports secure place in global.

As U.S. crude oil expands its foothold across the world, the markets that trade it have undergone some fundamental changes. Since the onset of the pandemic almost four years ago, these changes have included the shortening of the loading-date range for crude oil cargoes marketed along the U.S. Gulf Coast. Price reporting agencies (PRAs) like Argus have responded, launching crude oil assessments that reflect a narrower loading window. In today’s RBN blog, we take a closer look at the changes and the new assessments Argus has rolled out to help crude oil traders manage their market exposure.

Before we discuss Argus’s initiatives, let’s recap some of what was happening in the oil markets during the early days of COVID-19. In early spring of 2020, Russia and Saudi Arabia were locked in a price war that resulted in the Saudis shipping out massive quantities to customers globally. Around the same time, market participants were taking stock of the bleak demand outlook from the widespread pandemic lockdowns. It was a perfect storm for the market — a supply glut plus softening consumption — that sent benchmark oil prices plunging, including the infamous brief trip for NYMEX crude oil futures into negative territory. Short of shutting in production, storing unsold oil became the best option for producers, who had no clear indication of when governments would remove COVID restrictions that would resuscitate demand.