WTI eases as natural gas rises; Bakken crude discounts $3.42
Bakken differential implies $87.03 local crude price Friday afternoon, while gas gains support basin revenues.
Oil markets traded with modest pressure on crude benchmarks in Friday afternoon trading, according to live price data. WTI crude was at $90.45 a barrel, down $0.07, or 0.08%. Brent crude was at $97.80, down $0.49, or 0.5%. Natural gas rose $0.03 to $2.98 per million British thermal units.
For Bakken operators, the more consequential number was the regional differential. Bakken crude traded at minus $3.42 against WTI. That implies a local light-sweet crude price of $87.03 when WTI is $90.45. The spread between Brent and WTI was $7.35.
The price action showed crude and gas moving in opposite directions. Crude benchmarks eased through the session, while natural gas rose. The small WTI decline contrasted with a larger percentage move in Brent, even though both benchmarks traded lower. In general, crude prices reflect global supply, demand, inventories and risk premiums, while natural gas is more sensitive to seasonal storage, weather and pipeline flows.
The Bakken differential matters because Williston Basin producers rarely receive the exact WTI benchmark. Their realized price depends on local basis, transportation, refinery access and takeaway capacity. A $3.42 discount is small enough that WTI remains the dominant reference, but large enough to affect cash flow on every barrel sold.
Royalty owners should watch the same number. Royalty calculations often begin with a market price or wellhead value, and the differential can reduce the gross revenue pool from which royalties are paid. In a basin where many wells are high cost and decline curves are steep, basis discounts can influence whether marginal barrels remain economic.
Natural gas at $2.98 is also meaningful for the Bakken. The formation produces large volumes of associated gas alongside oil. Gas revenue can help offset field-level costs, especially when oil prices are flat. The $0.03 move is small, but gas is a secondary revenue stream that can improve project economics when crude benchmarks drift lower.
The data also showed a wide international benchmark spread. Brent at $97.80 was $7.35 above WTI, reflecting the different global supply and demand conditions captured by the two contracts. For North Dakota producers, however, the practical reference remains WTI and the local Bakken discount.
Friday’s pricing left WTI just below $90.50, Brent near $98 and natural gas just under $3.00. For Bakken operators, the key takeaway is that crude revenue will track WTI minus the regional basis, while gas revenue adds a separate, seasonally driven component to basin cash flow.
Source
Bakken Wire live price data
