Crude news… Starting this week, global oil prices will start taking cues from the US. The price of Brent crude oil, which is primarily sourced in the North Sea between Scotland and Norway, has long been used as a benchmark for calculating global oil and natural-gas prices. By some estimates, Brent is used to set the price of two-thirds of all crude oil sold globally. But as Brent oil fields dry up, exchanges are looking stateside to set the new pricing standard.
Full tank: West Texas Intermediate crude oil is used as a benchmark for American oil. But starting today, WTI crude will become the first non-European oil to be used in the Brent pricing benchmark.
Full steam: In March, the US shipped a record # of barrels of WTI crude to China and Europe, which has been more reliant on American oil since Russia’s war.
Don’t mess with Texas… America’s rise up the energy ladder marks a major turning point from the early 2000s when it imported up to 60% of all its oil. Today, that number is down to about 40%. As shale production boomed in Texas' Permian Basin over the past decade, US dependence on foreign oil dipped. Meanwhile, supply began to pile up with top producers Saudi Arabia and Russia, who’ve recently curbed production to keep prices higher.
The energy is shifting… With US oil holding greater weight in global energy prices, the market could become less vulnerable to demand shifts or manipulation. Some analysts say factoring cheaper American barrels into Brent could help lower oil prices overseas and boost biz for US exporters. Still, the US shale boom is expected to slow this decade as lucrative wells get tapped out.