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Trading conditions update

This trading conditions update is produced in order to provide equal disclosure to all investors and potential investors of current trading conditions
 

Data to Wednesday 03 May 2023

The marker prices and marker margins below do not represent the actual prices or margins realised by bp during the given periods. This data is normally updated every Friday at 3.30pm UK time (or nearest UK working day in the event of public holiday).

 

Quarter-to-date data are updated to the date shown at the top of this page.

Crude price – Brent dated
Henry Hub – gas
Marker prices 2Q 2023 to date 1Q 2023 4Q 2022  3Q 2022  2Q 2022
Brent Dated ($/bbl) 83.93 81.17 88.87 100.84 113.93
WTI Cushing ($/bbl) 78.43 75.97 82.82 91.63 108.77
WCS Hardisty ($/bbl) 63.08 56.67 53.52 69.02 90.25
ANS USWC ($/bbl) 81.60 79.01 87.89 98.84 112.17
Mars ($/bbl) 77.26 74.23 78.81 89.54 105.27
Urals (NWE – cif) ($/bbl) 56.14 46.19 61.04 71.24 77.29
US gas Henry Hub first of month index ($/mmbtu) 2.05 3.44 6.26 8.20 7.17
UK gas price – National Balance Point (p/therm) 97.86 130.81 166.54 281.01 130.11
Light / heavy crude spreads 2Q 2023 to date 1Q 2023
4Q 2022 3Q 2022  2Q 2022
Brent vs. Urals (NWE – cif) ($/bbl) 27.79 34.98 27.84 29.60 36.64
WTI vs. Mars ($/bbl) 1.17 1.73 4.01 2.09 3.50
WTI CMA* vs. WCS, lagged 1 month ($/bbl) 15.43 24.25 25.73 19.68 13.07
* The WCS differential to WTI calendar month average is based on a quoted Platts differential and used as a generic indicator. Actual crude differentials captured by bp’s refineries may vary significantly due to a variety of factors, such as apportionment, rationing or operational issues on third party crude logistics infrastructure.
Refining Marker Margin
Refining marker margins ($/bbl) – RMM* 2Q 2023 to date

1Q 2023

 

4Q 2022

 

3Q 2022

 

2Q 2022

 

US – North West Coast 31.7 39.0 39.0 52.0 62.2
US – Mid West 26.2 28.8 32.4 38.8 46.6
North West Europe 17.8 24.3 30.0 28.6 39.8
Mediterranean 18.2 26.4 31.5 30.0 40.9
Global Refining Marker Margin 22.4 28.1 32.2 35.5 45.5

The refining margins shown above are compiled using data from third-party databases, and as such may be subject to possible errors.

 

* The Refining Marker Margin (RMM) is a generic indicator. Actual margins realised by bp may vary significantly due to a variety of factors, including specific refinery configurations, crude slate and operating practices. For example being based on a single regional marker crude, the RMM does not include the impact of the differential between Canadian Heavy crude and WTI.

 

*As of 1 March 2023, the 1Q23 RMM number has been adjusted to the current 2023 portfolio basis. This is a result of bp completed the sale of its 50% interest in the bp-Husky Toledo refinery in Ohio, US, to Cenovus Energy, its partner in the facility on 28 February 2023.

 

Find out more about how bp calculates its Refining Marker Margin (RMM)

 

Important note – rules of thumb

The rules of thumb were reviewed in the first quarter of 2023, based on the then prevailing range of oil and gas prices. They are intended to give directional indicators of the impact of changes in the trading environment on bp's 2023 full-year pre-tax results. 


These rules of thumb are approximate and based upon bp’s current portfolio of oil and gas businesses. The weighting of the rules of thumb for Brent is an approximate split of 80% to oil production & operations and 20% to gas & low carbon energy. The weighting of the rules of thumb for Henry Hub is an approximate split of 50% to oil production & operations and 50% to gas & low carbon energy.


Please note that the relationship between prices and results is not necessarily linear across a wide range of oil and gas prices. Changes in margins, differentials, seasonal demand patterns, operational issues, hedge positions and other factors including timing of acquisition and divestment activity, can also materially impact the results. In particular, hedging activity has lowered the 2023 Henry Hub rule of thumb compared to previous years and as a result should not be treated as representative of the longer-term sensitivity of the portfolio beyond 2023.


Significant differences between the estimates implied by the application of the rules of thumb and the actual results themselves may also arise due to complex mechanisms for calculating government shares of oil and gas revenues in some jurisdictions, depending on price levels.

 

The bp Refining Marker Margin (RMM) rule of thumb reflects the sensitivity of the group’s results to changes in refining margins. However, variations could arise between the RMM and bp's realised refining margins due, for example, to bp’s particular refinery configurations and crude slate and product mix.

Operating environment rules of thumb for the full year 2023 Impact on pre-tax replacement cost operating profit
Oil price*
Brent +/- $1/bbl
$340m
Natural gas price*
Henry Hub +/- $0.10/mmBtu
$30m 
Customers & products refining margin
RMM +/- $ 1/bbl
$400m 
*combined indicator for oil production & operations and gas & low carbon energy