Last week, the price differential for Mars sour crude oil that is delivered from Gulf Coast offshore producing platforms via the Mars pipeline to Clovelly, LA surged to near a five-year high of $3.37/bbl on March 4th (green dashed oval in chart below). As discussed in RBN’s TradeView report, this is the highest for this closely watched Gulf sour crude since highs of better than $4/bbl over the price of NYMEX-CME Domestic Sweet (DSW) — the commonly quoted prompt month futures contract price of crude oil, were recorded during the height of COVID disruptions in April 2020 (compare green dashed line). Mars is an important price marker for medium sour crude produced in the offshore Gulf and is often seen as a barometer to assess the supply availability and relative price of other imported sour crudes such as those from Canada, Mexico, other parts of Latin America and the Middle East.
Featured Articles
- Analyst Insight
Mars Crude Price Differential Recovers on Tariff Uncertainty and Supply Tightness
Mars, the closely watched Gulf Coast sour crude price marker, has been punching out strong pricing differentials in the past two weeks, driven by a combination of tight imported supplies and crude import tariff uncertainty.
- Analyst Insight
Gulf Coast Sour Crude Price Differential Holds Positive Despite Market Turbulence
Gulf Coast Mars sour crude continues to hold at a positive differential to NYMEX WTI prices in a sign of tight sour crude supplies in the region.
- Analyst Insight
Gulf Coast Sour Crude Price Differential Collapses at the End of July
The price differential for Mars sour crude collapsed late in July and may remain under negative pressures in the months ahead.
