Commodities and energy pricing agency S&P Global Platts will defer changes to its core dated Brent oil benchmark after industry pressure, it said on Wednesday, Reuters reports. The changes, among which was inclusion of U.S. crude WTI Midland in the Brent assessment, were announced on February 22 and were due to take effect from July 2022. The European Brent benchmark is crucial to the global oil system because it is used to price more than half the world’s physical crude trades. Currently, the benchmark is based on the value of five North Sea crude grades: Forties, Brent, Oseberg, Ekofisk and Troll. “(We) believe the best route forward is to defer changes to the core FOB dated Brent complex.”The benchmark is calculated on a free-on-board basis, without freight costs.

Source: The Standard March 11, 2021 02:26 UTC