North Sea Forties crude trades at $8/b premium to underlying cash BFOE

Quantum Commodity Intelligence - Premiums for benchmark North Sea grades continued to surge Wednesday, with the Forties grade traded at $8/b above cash BFOE, according to broker data.

The premium is believed to be among the highest ever paid for one of the key Brent, Forties, Oseberg or Ekofisk FOB grades in the Platts market-on-close process, highlighting the current tightness in the North Sea market and reflecting the huge backwardation.

Trafigura took out the BP Forties offer of August BFOE +$8/b for a cargo loading during early July. The BFOE cash price is the equivalent of ICE Brent futures plus the EFP (Exchange of Futures for Physical).

Brent futures were trading at around $121/b at the 430pm London MOC Wednesday, according to Quantum data, valuing Forties at around $129/b.  

Supply from the five fields that underpin Dated Brent – Brent/Ninian, Oseberg, Forties, Ekofisk, and Troll – are scheduled at just 560,000 bpd in June but increasing to around 775,000 bpd in July, following the completion of maintenance at key Norwegian fields.

According to broker data, the Brent/Ninian Blend (BNB) is currently setting the Dated Brent assessment as the lowest-priced grade, valued at $4.50-$5/b over the underlying Dated Brent swaps.

US WTI Midland crude oil will be reflected in the North Sea Dated Brent benchmark assessment from June 2023, price reporting agency S&P Global Commodity Insights (Platts) said last week.