Concerns over manipulation and price squeezing due to the reduced number of cargoes arriving from the Brent crude oil field in the North Sea have long abounded. However, there has also been hesitation to risk tampering with a marker that has become so firmly established in order to meet the pricing needs of producers and refiners alike.

As of 10 July, Platts began assessing Brent crude contracts based on the most competitive price of any three grades of crude oil: Brent, Forties and Oseberg