The differential in the price of WTI crude oil in Corpus Christi, TX and WTI crude oil in Midland, TX has been volatile for more than a year, with more recent differential action pointing to persistent tightness in available pipeline capacity to ship crude from Midland to Corpus (red dashed rectangle in top chart below). WTI Midland and WTI Corpus are two price markers for individual physical crude oil streams that are originally priced as a differential to NYMEX-CME Domestic Sweet (DSW) — the commonly quoted prompt month futures contract price of crude oil. Deducting the WTI Corpus price from that of WTI Midland (yes, a differential of a differential) can be a barometer for the degree of pipeline and other market constraints in the shipment of crude oil from Midland to export terminals in the Corpus area.
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- 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
WTI Midland Reaches Highest Price Differential in 11 Months
The price differential of WTI Midland crude has been steadily increasing for the past month and last week reached its highest value in 11 months.
- Analyst Insight
Fall Friskiness – WTI Midland Crude Price Differentials Stage a Rebound
Midland crude price differentials, the real WTI price, rose to a six-month high at the end of August.
