The pricing spread between Brent (BZ=F) and West Texas Intermediate (CL=F) crude futures widened to its largest in more than a decade on Thursday.

The gap between the international and US oil benchmarks opened up amid an explosion in Middle East and European demand for barrels available quickly.

As of about 11 a.m. ET, Brent (BZ=F) was trading at $111.37 a barrel, while WTI crude (CL=F) was trading at $97.78 — a roughly $14 spread. Earlier in the session, the gap neared $20 as Brent changed hands at $114.

The spread is the widest since at least 2013, save for a few days during the depths of the pandemic in 2020.

The Brent benchmark reflects the price of globally traded seaborne crude, and it serves as the primary pricing reference for physical cargoes moving through chokepoints such as the Strait of Hormuz. By contrast, WTI is priced at a landlocked inland storage hub in Cushing, Oklahoma, and it’s more closely tied to North American supply-demand balances.

The US does export a significant amount of its in-country shale oil output. But its large domestic production, pipeline infrastructure, and refining capacity along the Gulf Coast all help buffer WTI from the full impact of international disruptions.

As a result, Brent absorbs more of the geopolitical risk premium associated with Middle East conflicts — including threats to infrastructure, sanctions risk and higher tanker insurance costs. Meanwhile, US barrels are less exposed to those same factors.

The spread between the two benchmarks often widens during geopolitical shocks because Brent prices the global marginal barrel, while WTI reflects a more insulated regional market.