Structured brokerage for light sweet, heavy sour, and REBCO crude transactions between refineries, trading houses, and national oil companies worldwide.
From premium light sweet crudes to discounted heavy sour barrels, Meridian intermediates across the full API gravity and sulphur spectrum.
Premium benchmark crudes favoured by complex refineries for their high yield of light distillates. Sourced from US Gulf Coast, North Sea, and West African producers. Priced at ICE Brent or NYMEX WTI with agreed differential.
High-sulphur, high-density crudes requiring complex refinery configurations (coking, hydrocracking). Significant price discounts to light sweet benchmarks create substantial margin opportunities for sophisticated buyers with adequate processing capacity.
Russian Export Blend Crude Oil (REBCO), delivered via Black Sea ports (Novorossiysk) or Baltic (Primorsk/Ust-Luga). Medium sour grade trading at significant discount to Brent, attracting interest from Asian and Middle Eastern refinery buyers operating outside G7 price cap frameworks.
Reference quality benchmarks for the three main crude categories handled by Meridian's intermediation desk.
| Parameter | Brent / WTI | Arab Heavy / Maya | REBCO Urals | Test Method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| API Gravity | 38° – 45° | 18° – 28° | 31° – 32° | ASTM D287 |
| Sulphur (% wt) | ≤ 0.50 | 2.0 – 3.5 | 1.2 – 1.4 | ASTM D4294 |
| Viscosity @ 40°C | 2 – 8 cSt | 40 – 200 cSt | 15 – 25 cSt | ASTM D445 |
| Pour Point | −30 to −15°C | −5 to +15°C | −6 to +3°C | ASTM D97 |
| Water & Sediment | ≤ 0.5% vol | ≤ 1.0% vol | ≤ 0.5% vol | ASTM D1796 |
| Salt Content | ≤ 10 PTB | ≤ 30 PTB | ≤ 20 PTB | ASTM D3230 |
| Vanadium (ppm) | < 5 | 50 – 200 | 80 – 120 | ASTM D5863 |
| Nickel (ppm) | < 3 | 20 – 80 | 30 – 50 | ASTM D5863 |
| Flash Point | < −10°C | < −5°C | < −8°C | ASTM D56 |
Current signals shaping crude oil mandate flow and counterparty positioning in the Atlantic and Pacific basins.
The OPEC+ alliance confirmed an extension of its 2.2 million barrel per day voluntary production cut agreement through the end of June 2026 at its March ministerial meeting. Saudi Arabia and Russia, the two largest contributors, signalled continued support for price stability amid uncertainty over Chinese demand recovery and rising non-OPEC supply from Guyana, Brazil, and US shale operators.
Guyana has emerged as the most significant new crude oil province of the decade. The fourth FPSO vessel on the Stabroek block — Hammerhead — commenced production in late January 2026, pushing total block output above 700,000 barrels per day. The light sweet crude (Liza blend, ~32° API, 0.54% sulphur) is attracting premium interest from US East Coast and European refineries seeking pipeline-independent supply alternatives.
The crude oil market in 2026 is defined by a tension between OPEC+'s disciplined supply management and the accelerating emergence of non-OPEC production from the Americas — particularly Guyana, Brazil, and the continued resilience of US shale. This structural tug-of-war is keeping Brent in a relatively narrow $78–$88/bbl range, creating predictable but tight margins for intermediaries and traders.
OPEC+'s decision to extend the 2.2 million barrel per day voluntary production cut through Q2 2026 was widely anticipated but nonetheless significant. Saudi Arabia, which bears a disproportionate share of the adjustment burden, has signalled it will not repeat the market-share strategy of 2014–2016. The Kingdom's fiscal break-even — estimated by the IMF at approximately $80–85/bbl — effectively sets a soft floor for policy intervention.
"Guyana has changed the Atlantic Basin's crude supply calculus permanently. The Liza blend offers refiners a premium light sweet alternative to Brent at competitive differentials, with none of the geopolitical risk premium embedded in Middle Eastern barrels."
For mandate holders operating in the crude space, the key structural opportunity in 2026 lies in heavy sour differentials. As OPEC+ cuts disproportionately target medium and heavy sour grades, the spread between light sweet (Brent/WTI) and heavy sour crudes (Arab Heavy, Maya, Basra) has widened to multi-year highs. Complex refineries in Asia and the US Gulf Coast — those equipped with coking and hydrocracking units — are actively seeking heavy sour supply at these elevated discounts.
The REBCO/Urals market continues to operate under the G7 price cap mechanism, creating a bifurcated market where Russian crude flows predominantly to India, China, and Turkey at discounts of $10–15/bbl to Dated Brent. For intermediaries with the compliance infrastructure to navigate this landscape, REBCO remains one of the highest-volume crude trading opportunities globally.
Meridian is currently sourcing mandates for CIF deliveries of light sweet crude to Mediterranean refiners, as well as FOB transactions for heavy sour grades from Middle Eastern and Latin American producers targeting Asian end-buyers with verified processing capacity.