Company: BSM
Filing Date: 2025-08-05
Form Type: 10-Q
Source: 0001621434-25-000108
Chunk: 107

Company: Black Stone Minerals, L.P.
Filing Date: 2025-08-05
Form: 10-Q
Item: Part I, Item 2
Chunk 107
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 monitor and analyze our production volumes from the various basins and plays that constitute our extensive asset base. We also regularly compare projected volumes to actual reported volumes and investigate unexpected variances.

Commodity Prices

Factors Affecting the Sales Price of Oil and Natural Gas

The prices we receive for oil, natural gas, and NGLs vary by geographical area. The relative prices of these products are determined by the factors affecting global and regional supply and demand dynamics, such as economic conditions, production levels, availability of transportation, weather cycles, and other factors. In addition, realized prices are influenced by product quality and proximity to consuming and refining markets. Any differences between realized prices and New York Mercantile Exchange ("NYMEX") prices are referred to as differentials. All our production is derived from properties located in the United States. 

•Oil. The substantial majority of our oil production is sold at prevailing market prices, which fluctuate in response to many factors that are outside of our control. NYMEX light sweet crude oil, commonly referred to as West Texas Intermediate ("WTI"), is the prevailing domestic oil pricing index. The majority of our oil production is priced at the prevailing market price with the final realized price affected by both quality and location differentials.

The chemical composition of oil plays an important role in its refining and subsequent sale as petroleum products. As a result, variations in chemical composition relative to the benchmark oil, usually WTI, will result in price adjustments, which are often referred to as quality differentials. The characteristics that most significantly affect quality differentials include the density of the oil, as characterized by its American Petroleum Institute (“API”) gravity, and the presence and concentration of impurities, such as sulfur.

Location differentials generally result from transportation costs based on the produced oil’s proximity to consuming and refining markets and major trading points.

•Natural Gas. The NYMEX price quoted at Henry Hub is a widely used benchmark for the pricing of natural gas in the United States. The actual volumetric prices realized from the sale of natural gas differ from the quoted NYMEX price as a result of quality and location differentials. 

Quality differentials result from the heating value of natural gas measured in Btus and the presence of impurities, such as hydrogen sulfide, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen. Natural gas containing ethane and heavier hydrocarbons has a higher Btu value and will realize a higher volumetric price than natural gas which is predominantly methane, which has a lower Btu value. Natural gas