Two producers in the same field, selling the same grade of crude, can look at their statements on the same day and see two different net prices. That's not a mistake. It's how postings work, and understanding why can change how you think about your marketing agreement.
What a "posting" actually is
A posting is the price a buyer publicly offers for a given grade of crude at a given location, updated daily. It isn't set by the government and it isn't a single industry-wide number. Each purchaser sets its own postings, and different purchasers can arrive at different figures for the same barrel.
Most postings are built off the NYMEX WTI futures contract, but not simply by copying the daily settlement price. A common approach uses a calendar month average, or CMA, of WTI futures, then adds a differential on top of it. That differential accounts for location (Midland doesn't price the same as Cushing) and quality (not every barrel matches the WTI specification exactly).
This is why the number you hear on the news, "WTI closed at such-and-such," is a reference point, not your price. Your actual price is that benchmark plus or minus a differential that reflects your specific barrel and location.
Why postings move day to day
A posting can shift for reasons that have nothing to do with your operation specifically:
The underlying benchmark moves. WTI futures react to global supply and demand news daily, and postings that reference it move with it.
The local differential widens or narrows. If a region is producing more than its takeaway infrastructure can handle, the local price can slip relative to the benchmark, even if WTI itself is flat.
Quality adjustments shift. If a stream's characteristics change, the differential applied to it can change too.
None of this requires anything unusual to happen. Postings moving daily is normal. What's worth paying attention to is whether the differential your barrels are being priced against makes sense for your specific grade and location, not just whether the headline number went up or down.
Why your net price isn't the posting itself
The posting is a starting point, not the number that lands on your check. Contract terms, gathering and transportation costs, and any post-production deductions all come off before you see a net price. Two producers can be quoted the same posting and still net different amounts once those terms are applied.
This is also part of why two marketing companies can offer what sounds like "the same price" and deliver different results. The posting they're both referencing might be identical. What differs is the differential attached to it and what gets deducted afterward.
What's worth asking about
If you're evaluating a marketing agreement or just want to understand your statement better, a few questions clarify a lot:
What benchmark is our price actually built from, and is it a daily settlement or an average over the month?
What differential is being applied to our grade and location, and how often does it get reviewed?
What comes out between the posting and our net price, and why?
You don't need to become a trader to ask these questions. You just need a marketing partner willing to walk through the answer in plain terms instead of pointing at a number and calling it final.
Heading into the new year
As you look at your marketing agreements heading into 2027, this is a reasonable moment to revisit how your price is actually built, not just what it's been running lately. A conversation now costs nothing and might save you from carrying an outdated differential into another year.
Want a straight answer on how your barrels are actually priced? Get your bid and we'll walk you through it, no jargon required.
