Brent settled at $109.95 a barrel and WTI at $98.79, opening an $11.16 spread. That gap sits roughly $3 above the third-quarter average, which makes the arbitrage of pulling WTI-linked cargoes from the U.S. Gulf to Asia noticeably fatter than the Brent-linked route.

Among the seven grades SNSUC carries on its transshipment book — ESPO, Dubai, Oman, Urals, Basrah Light, Bonny Light and Lula — ESPO and Oman price off the Brent discount, Urals follows the price-cap logic, and Basrah Light tracks the Dubai month spread. Each time the spread moves, the delivered-and-duty-paid cost has to be rebuilt. At Brent $109.95 and USD/CNY 6.6792, one metric tonne equals 7.33 barrels, so the listed formula puts delivered price at $109.95 × 6.6792 × 7.33 × grade factor — about 2.3% higher than last week.

On execution, Urals stays under the $60 cap line. The SPV must name the Central Bank of Iraq, not the SOMO corporate account, as the letter-of-credit beneficiary — no shortcuts there. The other six grades settle 30 days after bill of lading; once the port of discharge is fixed in the credit it cannot be amended. Today we locked the Oman and ESPO discount lines first.