Light Sweet, Sour, or Brent?

There are 3 different types of Crude Oil, and the petroleum industry geographically categorizes them as: Light sweet (WTI); North Sea Brent; and Oman (sour).  The WTI (West Texas Intermediate) is a very high-quality, sweet, light oil delivered at Cushing, Oklahoma for North American oil.  This is the most common type of Crude Oil and the one that is traded in the oil pit at the NYMEX.  Then there is Brent Crude which is sourced from the North Sea.  Brent blend is a light crude oil – though not as light as WTI – it is ideal for the production of gasoline and middle distillates.  Dubai-Oman Crude is a light sour crude oil extracted from Dubai. Dubai Crude is used as a price benchmark or “oil marker” because it is one of only a few Persian Gulf crudes available immediately.

Crude oil may be considered light if it has low density, or heavy if it has high density; and, it may be referred to as sweet if it contains relatively little sulfur, or sour if it contains substantial amounts of sulfur.

The location is important because it effects the price of transportation costs to the refinery.  Light crude oil is more desirable than heavy oil since it produces a higher yield of gasoline. Sweet oil commands a higher price than sour oil because it has fewer environmental problems and requires less refining to meet sulfur standards imposed on fuels in consuming countries.

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