SNSUC's crude reference price uses a fixed anchor: Brent in USD × spot USD/CNY × 7.33 (barrel-to-tonne factor) × grade factor. At the 14:00 snapshot Brent is $102.653 and USD/CNY is 6.705, giving ¥688.29 per barrel; multiplied by 7.33 this lands at ¥5,045 per tonne. That figure is pure arithmetic with no premium or discount — it is the common starting point for all seven transshipment grades.

Grade factors split the CIF into seven tiers. ESPO carries a low sulphur content and short haul, so its factor is about 1.02 and CIF is ¥5,146/t. Bonny Light is a light, high-yield crude with a factor near 1.03, landing at ¥5,196/t. Urals, constrained by the price cap and insurance, carries a factor near 0.98, landing at ¥4,944/t. On a single anchor the grade gap exceeds ¥250/t, so premiums must be stacked on top of the correct grade, never mixed into the base.

For the operator the formula makes quotes checkable. A client can recompute the anchor from live Brent and the day's FX on their own; we are only accountable for the grade factor and the premium. When the yuan strengthens the anchor drifts down and transshipment margin widens passively. With USD/CNY at 6.705, roughly flat against early October, the anchor holds at ¥5,045, a good level to lock a one-week contract.