Edward Hayden-Briffett
Research Analyst, The Officials
WHAT IS DATED BRENT
The dominant pricing reference for global oil markets
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Dated Brent is a physical North Sea oil benchmark — the word "dated" refers to the fact that deliveries have specific dates attached to them. It is the dominant pricing reference for global oil markets, with around three quarters of all physical oil trading settled against it.
It was invented by Jorge Montepeque - now Head of Benchmarking at Flux.
The Basket
Dated Brent is not a single crude — it is assessed from a basket of six grades:
- Brent
- Forties
- Oseberg
- Ekofisk
- Troll
- WTI Midland
The most competitively priced (i.e. cheapest) grade in the window on any given day determines the Dated Brent price for that session.
Each grade carries its own adjustments. Better quality grades like Oseberg and Ekofisk carry quality premiums. Forties is subject to a sulphur de-escalator that varies depending on the proportion of lower-quality Buzzard blend it contains, updated weekly. WTI Midland, being shipped from the Gulf of Mexico, carries a freight adjustment factor reflecting the cost of transporting it to the North Sea — a figure that can change daily.
How the Assessment is Built
To arrive at a Dated Brent price, assessors build a pricing curve for each of the six grades, accounting for quality premiums, sulphur adjustments, and freight. The most competitive of these curves is then averaged across the ten-to-thirty day delivery window to produce the Dated Brent assessment.
This is then cross-referenced against two other instruments: Cash BFO (Brent/Forties/Oseberg — partials of 100,000 barrels traded on a monthly forward basis) and CFDs (Contracts for Difference — weekly contracts that represent the average of daily Dated Brent prices). Together these allow a smooth, granular forward curve to be constructed, giving traders more precise hedging capability.
The Physical Differential
The physical differential is a summary measure of how strongly the physical market is pricing relative to the paper curve. When it is around zero, physical supply and demand are relatively balanced. A sharp move upward — as seen in the document's example of an 80–90 cent spike — signals that physical cargoes are pricing at a significant premium, often reflecting tightness in near-term supply.
Relationship to Brent
The relationship between Dated Brent (physical market) and Brent futures (paper market) is a key indicator of physical crude supply/demand conditions. Refiners, producers, traders, and analysts closely watch the Dated-to-Frontline Spread (DFL), which measures the premium or discount of Dated Brent relative to the nearest Brent futures contract. Dated Brent is the price of actual barrels, while Brent futures are the price of barrels at some future point in time. The difference between them tells you whether the market wants oil right now or is comfortable waiting.
Current Prices
Prices are delayed and should be treated as indicative only. For live prices, see Flux Terminal or the Flux CFDs Trading Platform.