Oil Holds Near $96 as Inventories, Iran Risks Offset

Oil prices were roughly steady in the latest data, with Brent Crude at $95.84, up 2 cents, and WTI Crude at $88.56, down 18 cents, or 0.2%. Natural Gas fell 11 cents to $3.23. The Bakken differential stood at minus $3.42 against WTI, indicating regional crude was trading below the U.S. benchmark.

The market balanced competing signals, according to Rigzone. Brent settled near $96 as Middle East supply risks, including Iran tensions, offset signs of an oil surplus, Rigzone reported. That dynamic has kept the global benchmark elevated relative to WTI. The Brent-WTI spread in the latest data was about $7.28, a gap that can affect how Bakken barrels are valued when they are sold into markets influenced by international pricing.

On the supply side, U.S. commercial crude inventories, excluding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, rose nearly 5 million barrels week on week, Rigzone reported. The Energy Information Administration's latest weekly petroleum status report put stocks at 414.417 million barrels on November 6, according to Rigzone. The build suggests the domestic crude market has not been tight enough to push WTI materially higher.

For North Dakota, the combination of a softening WTI contract and a negative Bakken differential means operators should watch realized pricing carefully. While Brent's strength can support barrels sold into export-linked markets, the $3.42 discount to WTI reduces the per-barrel benchmark reference for Bakken crude. With WTI at $88.56, that differential implies a Bakken price roughly $3.42 below the benchmark.

The natural gas decline also matters. Bakken production often comes with associated gas, so a lower gas price can trim revenue from that stream. The $3.23 level, down 11 cents, points to weaker near-term gas economics for operators and royalty owners. For royalty owners, total revenue depends on both oil and gas prices, and a negative differential can reduce the oil side even when Brent remains strong.

Another Rigzone headline added to the global supply picture: Benin shipped its first crude cargo for decades from a revived oil field, according to Rigzone, marking the country's return to the ranks of West Africa's oil-exporting states. The story did not provide production volumes, but it underscored that new or restarted supply can influence market sentiment when inventories are rising.

Taken together, the data show a market caught between geopolitical risk and physical oversupply. Iran-related tensions have helped keep Brent near $96, while the U.S. crude inventory build and lower natural gas prices have weighed on WTI and regional benchmarks. For Bakken operators, the key takeaway is that Brent strength does not automatically translate into WTI parity: the negative differential remains a real drag on realized oil prices, and weaker natural gas adds pressure to total revenue.