The Brent–WTI spread closed at $12.00 a barrel today, roughly a dollar wider than the $11.01 we carried into the week. The gap reflects two physically diverging markets: North Sea physical barrels stay tight, while Cushing inventories built for a third straight week and kept WTI pinned below $90.

For our seven-product re-export book — ESPO, Dubai, Oman, Urals, Basrah Light, Bonny Light and Lula — the spread is not a paper number. The delivered price we quote to refiners is anchored to Brent, while discounted grades like Urals are bought off Dated Brent minus a discount. Every extra dollar on the spread hands us one more dollar of headroom per barrel inside the same back-to-back letter of credit.

Do not read the wider spread as an all-clear. A slice of it is still war-risk premium: hull insurance through the Strait of Hormuz has not returned to pre-April levels, and STS transshipment at Sohar and Fujairah anchorages now waits two to three days longer than normal. We fold that into the freight model before quoting a fixed price, otherwise the exposure sits entirely on the spot leg.

On execution, we locked two November-loading back-to-back LCs today — one ESPO, one Oman — with the discharge port nailed down as Fujairah STS before issuance, per our standing rule against post-issue rerouting. The other five grades stay on daily tracking; a second round of price locks only triggers above $12.50.