The Midland-to-Houston crude oil differential has undergone a dramatic round trip over the past several months. As the charts below show, the spread surged to its highest levels in years during the early months of the Iran war before collapsing back toward historical norms. After averaging less than $0.35/bbl through most of 2023-2025 (left graph), the differential briefly exceeded $3/bbl on a daily basis in April 2026 (right graph) and pushed the monthly average to levels not seen since major Permian pipeline capacity constraints were a recurring concern back in 2018-19.
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Geopolitical Risk Premium Drives Surge in Crude Prices To Above $90/bbl
The start of March brought extraordinary volatility to crude markets. Multiple global benchmarks and regional grades posted sharp gains, with several trading at or near recent highs.
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International Brent versus Domestic WTI Crude Oil Price Differential Blowout
The price differential between Brent and WTI has widened sharply in the past few days, reaching levels not seen in over a decade as the Iran war has created a growing gap between international seaborne and domestic inland crude markets.
