How to structure this contract
- Name the exact benchmark. Argus Base Oils and ICIS Base Oils-Lubes are real but split into dozens of regional grades: name the specific one.
- Confirm subscription access. Both parties need to hold access to the named report before signing.
- Use the free fallback if needed. BLS PCU324191324191 is live and free, though it measures a different thing (the US producer price, not a spot price).
- Verify any report name you have not confirmed. Do not cite a product name that turns out not to exist.
Two real benchmarks, both paid
Base oils have two named, established price assessments: Argus Base Oils and ICIS Base Oils-Lubes. Both are real, both publish weekly, and both require a paid subscription. Neither publishes usable numeric data for free. A contract citing either needs to name the exact grade and region, and both sides need to confirm they actually have subscription access before the clause is signed, not after the first dispute.
Argus Base Oils
Argus publishes weekly prices for Group I, II, and III base oils across regional markets. Name the specific regional grade, not just "Argus Base Oils," since the service covers many distinct assessments.
ICIS Base Oils-Lubes
ICIS covers base oils weekly across several regions, and the grades reported differ by region. As with Argus, name the specific region and grade.
There is no confirmed standalone "Argus Additives" index
"Argus Base Oils and Additives" gets mentioned informally, but no standalone Argus product by that name could be confirmed. Confirm the exact product name directly with Argus before naming one in a contract. Citing a report name that does not exist creates the same problem as citing a fabricated government index code.
A free domestic fallback
The BLS publishes a Producer Price Index for Petroleum Lubricating Oil and Grease Manufacturing, series PCU324191324191, live and free to check. It is a US domestic manufacturing price index, not a regional spot-price grade assessment like Argus or ICIS, so it measures a different thing: the price US producers receive, not a traded spot price. Use it when neither party has a subscription, or as a sanity check against a subscription-based number. For broader specialty chemical inputs, including additive-adjacent categories, PCU325998325998 (All Other Miscellaneous Chemical Product Manufacturing) is a real, checkable, though broad, proxy.
Lubricant prices follow crude oil, with a delay of a few months, and they move by much less than crude does.
Sources: PCU324191324191 (Petroleum Lubricating Oil and Grease Manufacturing); EIA via FRED, MCOILWTICO.
Since 2017, this index has followed the WTI crude price about 3 months later and moved only a small fraction as far as it over a year.
Over the 12 months to Sep 2026, the WTI crude price rose 52.1% and this index rose 17.1%.
Take a contract signed in September 2025 with $200,000 of lubricant scope, invoiced in September 2026.
| Base index, Sep 2025 | 628.696 |
| Current index, Sep 2026 (revisable) | 735.895 |
| Ratio, 735.895 ÷ 628.696 | 1.1705 |
| Amount at signing | $200,000 |
| Adjustment added to that amount | +$34,102 |
Live figures from the stored series, updated when the provider publishes. Sep 2026 can still be revised, so a clause should say whether the invoice uses the first published value or is trued up later.
Build the composite
| Component | Benchmark | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Base oil, regional grade | Argus Base Oils or ICIS Base Oils-Lubes, named grade | Subscription required for live numeric data |
| Base oil, domestic fallback | PCU324191324191 | Free, live, US-only |
| Feedstock (crude/refinery input) | PCU324110324110 (Petroleum Refineries) | Upstream driver of base oil cost |
| Specialty additives | PCU325998325998 (broad proxy) or a named additive supplier's own price list | No dedicated additive index confirmed |
Don't cite a report name you haven't confirmed
Argus and ICIS both publish dozens of distinct regional and grade-specific assessments under similar-sounding names. Citing "Argus Base Oils" without the region and grade, or a product name that turns out not to exist, produces a clause neither side can actually execute. Confirm the exact report title and that both parties hold subscription access before signing.
Live index data
- US PPI: Petroleum Lubricating Oil and Grease Manufacturing: current value, year-over-year change, and a free calculator