SNSUC's crude transshipment does not price its seven grades flat: ESPO trades at a discount to Dated Brent, Oman at a premium, Urals on its own basis, and Basrah Light, Bonny Light, Lula and Dubai each carry an official selling price (OSP) differential against Dated Brent. The quote first fixes the Dated Brent basis, layers each grade's differential, then strikes the CFR split. That differential layer is the real profit of the transshipment book; absolute oil price is only the backdrop.

On tax the bonded-zone route and general trade are two separate lanes. Bonded-zone transshipment goods never physically enter the customs territory and pay no import-stage VAT; the levy is deferred until actual domestic sale and the general-trade crude import allowance is untouched. General trade must be declared, pay VAT and consume the importer's own quota. For SNSUC, positioned as an offshore supplier / intermediary, bonded-zone transshipment is the compliant main lane.

On documents the rule is three-way consistency: contract, invoice and bill of lading must agree on volume, grade and vessel schedule. This used to be checked only after arrival; now the SHA-256 title fingerprint is pre-positioned before LC issuance — the BL hash goes on-chain at title transfer, and the bank's document review moves from reading paper to verifying the chain, cutting friction from issuance to disbursement.

Iran remains an automatic rejection line; Iraq has been explicitly exempt since 2026-10-02, so Basrah Light trades normally within the seven grades. The red line is simple: no external material lists Iran and Iraq together as automatic rejections — that duplication error was made once and will not recur.