Argus Bakken
Overview
Argus’ daily assessments give the price of Bakken at the North Dakota injection points to the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) and at the Patoka, Illinois pipeline hub; and for Light Sweet crude at the Guernsey blending and storage hub. Argus also prices Bakken at the mid-continent logistics hubs of Cushing and Clearbrook and at the Gulf Coast trading hub at Nederland/Beaumont, Texas, where cargoes can be loaded for export.
Since DAPL was opened in 2017, about 80% of Bakken crude moves to market by pipeline, making the injection points and logistical hubs particularly valuable locations for price discovery. Post pandemic, Bakken crude production has risen by a third from 900,000 b/d to 1.2mn b/d and Illinois regulators recently approved an expansion of DAPL capacity from 750,000b/d currently to 1mn b/d.
The introduction of independent, third-party price assessments will help market participants to transact, invest and manage risk with confidence both domestically and internationally. Argus now covers Bakken from the wellhead to the water at the request of market participants, capturing liquidity from both brokered and bilateral trades.
The new Bakken prices are published daily as part of the Argus Americas Crude service.
Price assessment details
What are the advantages of the Argus Bakken price assessment?
The Argus Bakken price assessment is used routinely as a pricing element in term physical contracts in the Bakken region. The Argus Bakken at Cushing price assessment also provides the settlement mechanism for financial contracts listed on the CME exchange.
Who uses this assessment?
The grade is actively traded in the Midcontinent, Rockies and the Gulf coast, and sold to domestic and international refiners. Traders, risk managers, planners, analysts, finance officers, senior executives, national, independent and international oil companies, regulators, exchanges and government officials use the Argus Bakken price assessment.
Explore our crude oil products
Key price assessments
Argus prices are recognised by the market as trusted and reliable indicators of the real market value. Explore some of our most widely used and relevant price assessments.
