Snapshot market data used in the examples below: Monday, 24 August 2026 — Brent ≈ $92.22/bbl, ICE Gasoil ≈ $1,136/MT. Benchmarks move daily; always recompute against the day's published settlement before issuing a live quote.
1. Know Your Benchmarks
| Instrument | Where | Unit | What it is |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brent Futures | ICE Futures Europe | $/bbl | Global crude benchmark |
| Gasoil Futures | ICE | $/MT | Exchange-traded diesel proxy (paper market) |
| Platts Diesel 10ppm CIF NWE | Platts (physical) | $/MT | Actual cargo deals, NW Europe |
| Argus Gasoil FOB offshore Lomé STS | Argus | $/MT | Diesel delivered ship-to-ship offshore Lomé |
The key distinction: ICE futures are the paper market; Platts and Argus assessments are the physical market. Physical cargoes are priced as a published benchmark, averaged over an agreed pricing window, plus or minus a fixed differential negotiated in the sale and purchase agreement.
2. Unit Conversions
One barrel equals 42 US gallons, or 158.987 litres. Converting tonnes to barrels depends on product density:
To compare a $/MT product quote against crude in $/bbl: $1,136/MT ÷ 7.45 ≈ $152/bbl equivalent. Diesel trades above crude — that gap is the crack spread, the refiner's margin.
3. The Price Build-Up Formulas
FOB — load port (seller loads; buyer arranges freight & insurance)
CIF — delivery port (seller pays cost, insurance, freight)
Freight is quoted via Worldscale or a charter lumpsum: freight $/MT = lumpsum ÷ cargo size. A smaller cargo carries a higher $/MT freight cost — the MR tanker (≈37,000 MT) is the standard West Africa cargo size.
4. Worked Example — EN590 CIF Tema, Ghana
Snapshot inputs (August 2026): Platts Diesel 10ppm CIF NWE ≈ $1,130/MT; MR lumpsum ARA→Tema ≈ $1.7M.
| Platts Diesel 10ppm CIF NWE (5-day average around B/L) | $1,130.00 /MT |
| − FOB ARA adjustment | −$8.00 → FOB $1,122.00 |
| + Freight, MR ARA → Tema ($1.7M ÷ 37,000 MT) | +$45.95 |
| + Insurance ICC(A)+war (110% × $1,167.95 × 0.150%) | +$1.93 |
| + Seller's demurrage/financing buffer | +$3.00 |
| Indicative CIF Tema | ≈ $1,172.87 /MT ≈ $156.64 /bbl equiv. |
|---|
Cargo value on a 37,000 MT lift: ≈ $43.4 million.
5. Worked Example — Crude FOB Offshore Ghana
For crude lifted offshore Ghana (Jubilee/TEN fields), pricing is FOB at the FPSO / single-point mooring:
| ICE Brent (5-day average around Bill of Lading) | $92.22 /bbl |
| + Jubilee sweet-light grade premium | +$1.50 |
| Indicative FOB offshore Ghana | ≈ $93.72 /bbl (≈ $705.97 /MT @ 0.835 density) |
|---|
On FOB terms the buyer owns freight and insurance from the FPSO onward, so $93.72 is the seller's realisable price; landed cost still needs freight and insurance added exactly as in Examples 4 and 5.
6. Why Mandate/Broker Offers Differ From Market-Derived Prices
Typical intermediary chains run: refinery or trader → mandate → broker → sub-broker → buyer. Each layer adds roughly $2–15/MT in commission. Real principals sell at Platts ± differential because they can always place barrels at market — they never need a long chain to find a buyer.
Both extremes in a quote are worth treating as a flag:
- Quotes far above the calculated market price — intermediary stacking, or a padded fake offer.
- Offers far below market (for example, "Brent minus $20") — classic advance-fee fraud territory. Nobody sells below a transparent, liquid market.
A clause requiring pricing referenced to Platts or Argus, plus a fixed differential verified bank-to-bank, is the right instinct. A genuine counterparty accepts it without hesitation.
7. Where To Check Prices Yourself
- Free: tradingeconomics.com, oilprice.com, barchart.com (ICE Gasoil symbols)
- Official (paid): S&P Global Platts, Argus Media
- Freight: Baltic Exchange clean tanker indices, or direct quotes from 2–3 shipbrokers for your laycan
8. Use The Calculator
Every build-up above can be reproduced instantly with our interactive price calculator — enter a benchmark, differential, density, freight, and insurance rate to get a live FOB or CIF figure.
Open the CalculatorReminder: benchmarks move daily. Price against the contract's pricing window — typically a 5-day average around Bill of Lading date — not the signing date. This guide is provided for reference only and does not constitute a binding quotation; contact our desk for a live, dated indicative price.