The best grades of oil

Marker oil grades (reference varieties; benchmark crude) Are grades of oil with a certain composition (sulfur content, density), the prices of which are widely used in setting prices for the purchase and sale of various types of crude oil for the convenience of oil producers and consumers.

There are three main marker varieties in the world: Brent Blend, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) and Dubai Crude. The quotes for these varieties, published by the quotation agencies, determine the prices in the main regions:

• North Sea Brent for European and Asian markets. Prices for about 70% of exported oil grades are directly or indirectly set based on Brent quotes.
• WTI (West Texas Intermediate), also known as (Texas) Light Sweet - for the Western Hemisphere (USA) and as a benchmark for other grades of oil. For a long time it was the only marker variety in the XX century.
• The marker grade Dubai Crude is widely used in determining the prices of oil exported from the Persian Gulf countries to the Asia-Pacific region.

Previously, OPEC used its own benchmark, the weighted average cost of 12 different grades of oil exported by OPEC countries, which is called the OPEC oil basket (Reference Basket of crudes).

Typically, marker grades are associated with some main field or with a group of fields, oil from which has similar properties and is openly traded in the market with sufficient liquidity. So Brent - originally meant oil produced in the UK on the offshore field of the same name (discovered in the 1970s), but later Platts added oil from three neighboring fields in Britain and Norway (BFOE) to it. The US standard grade is WTI (also Light Sweet) - light oil produced in Texas.

The most significant agencies publishing daily average quotes for marker oil grades (Brent, WTI) are Platts and Argus Media price agencies, Asia Petroleum Price Index (APPI), ICIS London Oil Report are less popular. It is the quotes of price agencies that are indicated in medium and long-term contracts for the supply of about 90% of exported oil, while, depending on its quality, it can be sold at a discount or with a surcharge relative to the marker grade.

WTI (West Texas Intermediate)

The West Texas Intermediate marker is currently used primarily in the United States (traded for delivery to Cushing, Oklahoma) to set the price of US crude and some imported grades. WTI is a light (API gravity) and "sweet" (low sulfur) oil, making it suitable for processing into low sulfur fuels (gasoline and diesel). European Brent crude has a slightly higher gravity and higher sulfur content, but is also a high quality crude. The OPEC basket is even heavier and sourier than the Brent. As a result of these differences, as well as due to the need for delivery to Cushing, before 2011, WTI usually cost $ 1-2 per barrel more than Brent and $ 3-4 more than the OPEC basket. (Since 2011, the spread between WTI and other brands has changed dramatically for various reasons.)

Canadian marker oil Edmonton Par is similar in properties to WTI.

WTI oil production accounts for about 1% of global oil production.

Brent blend

Brent Crude (Brent Blend) is used in Europe and to a lesser extent in Asia. This grade is currently a blend of 4 offshore groups (BFOE - Brent, Forties, Oseberg and Ekofisk) in the North Sea, owned by the UK and Norway. The mixture contains oil from 15 different fields.

This brand has become a benchmark due to the reliability of supply, the presence of several independent suppliers and the willingness to purchase it from the side of many consumers and processors. Despite some supply problems in the past and low production volumes, Brent has sufficient liquidity to remain a marker.

The production of oil in the Brent blend accounts for about 1% of the world's total oil production.

Dubai and Oman

Dubai Crude, also known as Fateh, is a light oil produced in the Emirate of Dubai (UAE). For a long time, Dubai Crude was the only oil freely traded in the Middle East, but then the Oman crude oil spot market developed. Recently, the United Arab Emirates began supplying Dubai Crude oil to the Russian Federation. The transportation is carried out by a large enterprise - OJSC "LUKOIL-Neseas", which is part of PJSC "Lukoil" and controlled by Russian dollar billionaires - Sergei Ezubchenko and Dmitry Rybolovlev. For a long time, oil producers in the Middle East used monthly average quotations for Dubai (later Dubai and Oman) as benchmarks for export contracts to the Far East (prices for WTI and Brent futures were used for export to the Atlantic region).

Oil grades of various countries

List of oil grades (English) Russian. To facilitate export, many countries have introduced standard grades of oils with stable parameters. Sometimes a certain mixture is used as a standard.

For example, in Russia there are several main grades: a heavy mixture of Urals (the price is calculated with a discount from Brent), light Siberian Light oil (produced in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug), ESPO (a brand of East Siberian oil). Other Russian varieties: REBCO, Sokol (Sakhalin-1), Vityaz (Sakhalin-2), Arctic variety ARCO (Prirazlomnoye field developed by Gazprom Neft).

Prices for three of the five main Russian export brands,Urals, Siberian Light and REBCO are calculated based on Brent prices.

In Norway, Statfjord is exported, in Iraq - Kirkuk. It often happens that a country produces two types of oil - light and heavy. For example in Iran these are Iran Light and Iran Heavy.

see also

• Oil industry
• Classification of oils
• Oil prices

Notes (edit)

1. ↑ Oil markets explained. BBC News (October 18, 2007). Retrieved February 17, 2008.
2. ↑ Oil grades. Oil exchange trading. Brent and Light Sweet are marker varieties. - Conversation # 6 with an unnamed analyst;
3. ↑ Bassam Fattouh, An Anatomy of the Crude Oil Pricing System - Oxford, 2011, ISBN 978-1-907555-20-6
4. ↑ Bassam Fattouh, The Crude Oil Pricing System: Features & Prospects, Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, 2011: “Prices of physical benchmarks„ identified ‟or„ assessed ‟by PRAs - Platts, Argus"
5. ↑ Oil Price Reporting Agencies // Report by IEA, IEF, OPEC and IOSCO to G20 Finance Ministers, October 2011 (eng.): “Price Reporting Agencies (PRAs) .. report oil prices transacted in physical and some derivative oil markets, and give an informed assessment of oil price levels at distinct points in time… PRAs analyzed .. Platts, Argus Media, Asia Petroleum Price Index (APPI), and ICIS London Oil Report… The two most significant PRAs in the oil market, Argus and Platts , use a combination of mechanistic analysis and judgment. "
6. ↑ Oil Industry Commentary. Retrieved 5 July 2006. (link inaccessible)
7. ↑ NRC, 2013.
8. ↑ Pricing Differences Among Various Types of Crude Oil. Retrieved February 17, 2008.
9. ↑ Bassam Fattouh (Director of the Oil and Middle East Program). 5. The Brent Market and Its Layers // An Anatomy of the Crude Oil Pricing System. - Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, 2011 .-- P. 36 .-- 83 p. - ISBN 978-1-907555-20-6.
10. ↑ Miharu Kanai. Chapter 3 - Oil Pricing. 3.2.3 Benchmark Crude // PUTTING A PRICE ON ENERGY. International Pricing Mechanisms for Oil and Gas / Energy Charter Secretariat. - 2007 .-- S. 70 .-- 240 p. - ISBN 978-90-5948-047-6.
11. ↑ Crude Benchmark Analysis. Retrieved October 8, 2006. Archived March 22, 2006.
12. ↑
    • Russia. Russia’s oil grades // EIA (English)
    • Oil of the fifth grade // Kommersant, 2007
    • The Russian government will come up with a new grade of oil // Lenta.ru, 2007
13. ↑ RUSSIAN BENCHMARKS OF BLACK GOLD. The Russian crude oil brands and their future on the global markets // "OIL OF RUSSIA", No. 4, 2012
14. ↑ Oil of the fifth grade. The mixture supplied to China via the ESPO can be quoted independently of Urals // Kommersant, July 27, 2007: “Now prices for three grades of Russian oil - Urals, Siberian Light and Rebco are pegged to quotes calculated by Platts and Argus Media based on exchange prices for Brent / BFO oil "

Links

• Natural Resources Canada NRC (May 2011), Canadian Crude Oil, Natural Gas and Petroleum Products: Review of 2009 & Outlook to 2030, Ottawa, ON: Government of Canada, p. 9, ISBN 978-1-100-16436-6.
• How does the oil market work? // BBC, 24 October 2005
• Chapter 2 - Explaining Oil and Gas Pricing Mechanisms: Theoretical and Historical Aspects Chapter 3 - Oil Pricing // Putting a Price on Energy: International Pricing Mechanisms for Oil and Gas (2007)

In the last decade, the topic of energy resources has been increasingly touched upon by the media. Oil is no exception. The cost of this type of hydrocarbon raw material is formed depending on the trade exchange, as well as its grade. Oil grades are characterized by chemical composition and place of origin, which directly affects their cost.

general information

The grade or brand of oil is a qualitative characteristic of the raw material, the production of which is carried out in one field, which differs from others in its composition and homogeneity.Oil in different wells has characteristics characteristic only of it, and therefore it became necessary to classify it. To simplify the export system, a conditional division into light and heavy oil was adopted.

More than 20 brands are mined every year around the world. For example, the main export grades of oil in Russia are heavy oil Urals and light Siberian Light, while a total of 5 grades are produced. There are over a dozen brands in the United States. Due to this diversity, not all of them can be traded on international exchanges. Therefore, the price of each brand is determined relative to the marker varieties - British Brent oil, American WTI and Middle East Middle East Crude.

The cost of each brand of oil is determined by a discount or premium in relation to the marker grade, depending on the quality of the raw material. For example, heavy oil with a high content of impurities and sulfur will trade cheaper than the same Brent or WTI.

Characteristics of raw materials

Typically, oil is described as a black oily liquid, but this definition is not correct in all cases. The color range can vary from black to yellow and transparent.

The most important characteristics are also the coefficients of viscosity and melting. Some grades of oil can solidify at low temperatures, while others remain liquid in all weather conditions. Due to this heterogeneity of characteristics, a conditional division of varieties into light, medium and heavy has been adopted.

In its pure form, this raw material is practically not used, therefore, to obtain a marketable product, oil is processed. The speed and efficiency of processing is directly proportional to the density of raw materials and the content of sulfur and impurities.

Light varieties are more expensive, since they are used to produce such products as gasoline, diesel fuel, and kerosene. Heavy grades are used to produce fuel oil and fuel for furnaces, which are used less often, so their cost is lower.

Interesting Facts

Until 1973, the cost of "black gold" was no more than $ 3. The price quadrupled after the ban on the export of raw materials from Arab countries. In the early 80s, during the crisis in the Middle East countries, the cost fluctuated between 15 and 35 dollars.

Oil with a low sulfur content is called "sweet", and with a high content - "sour". It got this name because in the 19th century oilmen tried it. The cost of processing sour oil is much higher than that of processing sweet oil. Therefore, sweet is always valuable.

A distinctive feature of the New York stock exchange is that the dollar price of raw materials is quoted per barrel, and for products from it - in cents per gallon.

The International Oil Exchange operates in London, where more than 50,000 futures for various brands of oil and Brent blends are traded throughout the day.

Physical oil is delivered only for 1% of the concluded futures contracts.

Oil grades in Russia

In total, 6 grades of oil are exported from Russia.

Urals is mined in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, as well as in the Republic of Tatarstan. This brand is characterized by a high content of sulfur and heavy hydrocarbon compounds. The price of Urals crude oil is determined by discounting it for the North Sea Brent grade. This grade is obtained by mixing West Siberian oil with the Volga oil, which is why its quality suffers. In the last decade, attempts have been made to exclude Tatarstan raw materials from Urals. The price of Urals crude oil is formed on the RTS commodity exchange.

Siberian Light is mined in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug. The sulfur content in it is almost 3 times less than in Urals.

Arctic Oil is produced in the shelf of the Pechora Sea. This is the first Russian oil field located in the Arctic Ocean. A distinctive feature of this brand of Russian oil is its high density and high sulfur content. Oil is produced 60 km from the coastal zone from a stationary platform.

Sokol is characterized by a low content of impurities. Exploration on Sakhalin Island. Export is carried out through the Khabarovsk Territory.

ESPO has a low density and low sulfur content and is mined in Eastern Siberia. Transported via the ESPO pipeline.

Vityaz is a Sakhalin grade of oil, similar in quality to Omani light oil. Exported via the Trans-Sakhalin oil pipeline.

Oil grades in the world: global classification

The entire world classification of "black gold" is based on two brands - Sweet crude oil and Light Sweet crude oil.

Sweet crude oil - raw materials with a sulfur content of no more than 0.5%, as well as hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide. Currently, this brand is used in the production of gasoline.

Light Sweet crude oil contains little wax. Viscosity and density may vary.

Based on the characteristics of these grades, the following designations were assigned to oil grades:

• light (high density);
• crude (low wax content);
• heavy (low density);
• sweet (little sulfur).

Reference varieties

In total, there are 3 brands of oil in the world that are considered to be the benchmark.

Brent (crude) is a medium-density North Sea raw material containing up to 0.5% sulfur impurities. It is used in the production of middle distillers as well as gasoline. The price of Brent crude oil is the basis for the formation of prices for more than a third of all other grades in the world.

WTI is mined in the US state of Texas. Has a density higher than Brent, sulfur content - up to 0.25%.

Dubai Crude - oil from the UAE. Also called Fateh. Has a low density. Contains up to 2% sulfur impurities.

Varieties included in the OPEC export basket

OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) uses the OPEC basket index when calculating the cost of a particular grade. To date, the OPEC basket includes 11 brands of "black gold":

• Saharan Blend (Algeria);
• Es Sider (Libya);
• Arab Light (Saudi Arabia);
• Basra Light (Iraq);
• Bonny Light (Nigeria);
• Iran Heavy (Iran);
• Kuwait Export (Kuwait);
• Murban (United Arab Emirates);
• Qatar Marine (Qatar);
• Girassol (Angola);
• Merey (Venezuela).

Oil is the backbone of the economy of most countries, both developing and developed. Oil exploration is carried out both on the continents and on the shelves of the oceans. There are more than 20 different grades of "black gold" in the world. Moreover, each variety is distinguished by its unique chemical composition. Brent, WTI and Dubai Crude are considered to be the main benchmarks influencing global pricing. Export brands of Russian oil: Urals, Siberian Light, Arctic Oil, Sokol, ESPO, Vityaz. Futures contracts for the supply of raw materials are concluded on world commodity exchanges. These are mainly the New York and London stock exchanges. The RTS stock exchange (Moscow) operates in Russia.

Welcome to the Financial Genius! Today I would like to consider an issue that will be interesting simply for general development - grades (brands) of oil... After reading this article, you will find out which main types of oil are produced and used in the world, how they differ from each other, what is marketable oil, and what kind of oil is produced in Russia. I hope everyone will find it interesting and informative.

When you listen to or read economic news, it is very common to hear “brent crude”, “WTI crude” or some other grades mentioned. Today you will find out what it is, and why everyone is talking and writing about these brands, and, for example, Russian oil Urals and other brands of oil are mentioned in the media much less often.

So, first, look around. Many of the things that you have just seen are made from oil. Usually everyone knows that petrol is produced from oil, but they do not know that oil is also the main raw material for the production of plastics, polyethylene, medicines, cosmetics and many other things that you encounter on a daily basis.

That is why oil is one of the main goods in global demand, which is traded on world markets. And this product can be of different varieties (brands), each of which has its own value.

What does the brand of oil depend on?

Oil grades are determined by only two parameters:

1. Density of oil. The lighter the oil, the more oil products can be produced from it, and therefore the more expensive it is. The American Petroleum Institute has developed a special unit for measuring API oil density - oil density in degrees. The higher the API, the lighter the oil, and the better and more expensive it is.According to this parameter, “black gold” is divided into 3 categories:

• Light oil (31.2-41.1 degrees API);
• Medium oil (24.4-31.1 degrees API);
• Heavy oil (10-24.3 degrees API).

2. Sulfur content in oil. The higher the sulfur content in oil, the more difficult and expensive it is to process, and, therefore, the cheaper the brand of oil itself.

Marker (world) grades of oil.

There are 3 world or, as they are also called, commodity, reference, marker grades of oil: these are the brands that are mainly bought and sold on the world commodity markets, and for which prices (quotations) are formed there. All other brands of oil are also sold and bought, but quotations for them are not formed independently, but are set in a certain ratio with one of the commercial grades. Therefore, commercial oil grades can be called fundamental in the formation of world oil prices.

Consider 3 marker oil grades:

1. WTI oil. The name of this grade of oil originated from the abbreviation West Texas Intermediate. For a long period in the 20th century, WTI oil was the only marker grade, but later two more appeared. As the name suggests, WTI oil is produced in the southwestern United States in Texas. It is a light oil with a gravity of 40 API gravity and a sulfur content of 0.4-0.5%. WTI oil is ideally suited for the production of gasoline, and therefore there is always a high demand for it. This grade of oil is a marker, first of all, for the United States. The main consumers of WTI oil are the USA and China themselves. WTI oil is also known under another name - Light Sweet or Texas Light Sweet.
2. Brent oil. Its name stands for the first letters of 5 oil-bearing strata. Brent oil was first discovered in the North Sea, and is now produced primarily in the Norwegian Sea - in the northwest of the European continent. Since 1971, it has been a marker grade for 70% of the rest of the oil produced in the world, including for Russian oil grades. It is a light grade with a density of 38.6-39 degrees API and a low sulfur content of 0.37%. Brent oil is a marker grade for the countries of Europe and Asia.
3. Oil of the Dubai Crude brand. This brand of oil is produced in the United Arab Emirates near the capital of Dubai. Dubai Crude is a medium gravity oil, it is 31 degrees API, the sulfur content is also quite high here - 2%. This grade of oil is a marker for the countries of the Middle East, and its main sales market is the Asia-Pacific region.

As you can see, world (marker) oil brands are, as it were, divided between regions of the world - each of them is a standard for its continent and has its own producers and consumers.

Oil grades in Russia.

Next, let's take a look at the main Russian oil grades. Let me remind you that Brent oil is used as a marker grade for export brands of Russian oil.

1. Urals oil grade. The main brand of Russian oil, produced in Western Siberia. It is the cost of Urals oil that is included in the calculation of the budget of the Russian Federation, despite the fact that many other brands of oil are also produced in the country. The Urals crude is a medium-gravity crude (31 degrees API) with a fairly high sulfur content of 1.3%.
2. Vityaz oil grade. It is the lightest, and therefore the highest quality of all grades of Russian oil (density - 41 degrees API, sulfur content - 0.18%). Vityaz oil is produced on Sakhalin Island.
3. Sokol oil grade. It is also quite light oil, its density is 36-37 degrees API, and the sulfur content is 0.23%. The Sokol oil fields are also located on Sakhalin Island.
4. Siberian Light oil grade. This brand of Russian oil has a density of 35-36 degrees API and a sulfur content of 0.57%. It is mined in Western Siberia.
5. ESPO oil grade. Crude with a density of 34.8 API with a sulfur content of 0.62%. The production of this oil is also concentrated in the West Siberian region.
6. Oil grade Arctic Oil. This is a heavy grade of Russian oil - it has a density of 24 degrees API and a sulfur content of 2.3%. Arctic Oil is produced on the shelf of the Pechora Sea.

OPEC oil basket.

Now let's look at what the OPEC oil basket is. The term first appeared in 1987.Today, the OPEC basket is the arithmetic average of the cost of the 12 grades of oil included in its composition. All of these varieties are mined by OPEC countries.

The OPEC oil basket includes the following oil grades:

• Saharan Blend oil grade (produced in Algeria);
• MinasIran Heavy oil grade (produced in Iran);
• Basra Light oil brand (produced in Iraq);
• Kuwait Export oil brand (produced in Kuwait);
• Es Sider oil grade (produced in Libya);
• Bonny Light oil brand (produced in Nigeria);
• Qatar Marine oil brand (produced in Qatar);
• Arab Light oil grade (produced in Saudi Arabia);
• Murban oil grade (produced in the UAE);
• Oil grade BCF 17 (produced in Venezuela);
• Girassol oil brand (produced in Angola);
• Oriente oil brand (produced in Ecuador).

In addition to all of the above brands, there are many other grades of oil in the world, and new fields with new brands are periodically discovered.

Now you know how the grades (grades) of oil differ, which of them are marker (commercial), and which grades of oil are included in the OPEC basket. This will allow you to interpret economic news more intelligently.

For those who are interested, I advise you to also study my forecast for oil prices for the near future.

The Financial Genius website will continue to acquaint you with interesting and useful materials for improving financial literacy. Stay tuned for updates. Until next time!

from your site.

The creation of a system for sorting by oil grades has made it possible to create conditions under which buyers can know in advance the physical characteristics of the purchased raw material and its market price. Trading organizations and suppliers determine the grades of oil in order to be able to more accurately and quickly determine the weighted average cost of the goods. The introduction of sorting made it possible to compare the qualitative characteristics of black gold mined at various world deposits.

Accepted quality indicators

Determination of the quality indicators of commercial oil is determined depending on the percentage of sulfur and its density. The less sulfur and the lower the density of the raw material, the better it is. It is accepted to divide three categories of oil by sulfur content:

• up to 0.5% - low-sulfur;
• from 0.5 to 2.0% - medium-grained;
• more than 2.0% - high-sulfur;

The high sulfur content in petroleum feedstocks leads to the need for additional purification, which causes increased costs in obtaining refined products.

Density is measured in API degrees or specific gravity in kg / m3 (g / dm3). According to this indicator, the following types of oil are distinguished:

• ultralight up to 50 degrees or 820 g / dm3;
• lungs up to 40 degrees or 870 g / dm3;
• medium up to 30 degrees or 920 g / dm3;
• heavy up to 20 degrees or 1000 g / dm3;
• superheavy less than 10 degrees or more than 1000 g / dm3.

When distilling light grades, less heavy fractions remain and the production of finished products becomes more economically profitable.

Reference or marker varieties

A large number of black gold deposits with various characteristics of the extracted raw materials are being developed. But market prices are mainly determined for three types of oil. These are WTI, Brent and Dubai Crude brands.

At the same time, the OPEC Organization has a trading basket on the market, which includes 12 varieties of raw materials. This pricing system also has an important influence on the formation of the weighted average cost.

• WTI West Texas intermediate oil is produced in the west of Texas in the USA. The density of this raw material does not exceed 82.5 g / dm3, and the amount of sulfur does not exceed 0.5%. TWI sorts account for less than 1% of the world's volume. But high quality makes this oil one of the benchmarks influencing the price level of the oil market.
• Brent is produced by mixing three types of oil from the North Sea shelf. The received raw material is supplied for processing to European countries.
• As the name suggests, Dubai Crude is mined on the Arabian Peninsula in the United Arab Emirates.This raw material is also of high quality and, in addition, quite large volumes of supplies.

Varieties produced in Russia

The main territorial areas of production in the Russian Federation include:

• Ural;
• Volga region;
• Siberia;
• Sakhalin;
• North Caucasus.

The most famous brand of Russian oil is called Urals. It is obtained by mixing three types of raw materials mined in the Urals, the Volga region and Western Siberia. In addition, Russia supplies its customers with trade oil brands Sokol, Vityaz, Arctic Oil, ESPO, Rebco and SiberianLight. These Russian oil grades are in high demand among buyers on the market, but they do not have a decisive influence on the formation of prices.

Urals oil is obtained by mixing in a pipeline of high-sulfur, heavy oil produced in the Volga region and the Urals (sulfur up to 3%, density up to 26-28 gr.API), with light oil from the West Siberian fields Siberian Light (sulfur up to 0.57%, API gravity 36.5). As a result, oil is obtained with the following indicators: sulfur up to 1.2-1.4%, density 31-32 gr. API or 860-871 kg / m3

The Sokol brand is mined on Sakhalin Island. It belongs to light grades, and the sulfur content does not exceed 0.25%. However, relatively small production volumes do not allow for large supplies abroad.

The ESPO variety is mined in Eastern Siberia and sold mainly to Asian countries and for processing at Russian enterprises. In terms of its quality, it is very close to the indicators of raw materials mined in the Persian Gulf region. Therefore, this variety is constantly oriented in its value to the products produced in the United Arab Emirates. The main factor holding back the increase in sales volumes is the difficulty in transporting raw materials to the buyer.

OPEC oil basket

The oil brands sold on the world market by the OPEC countries include:

• Algerian Saharan Blend, density 45 degrees and sulfur content up to 0.1%;
• Libyan crude Es Sider with a low sulfur content, with a density of up to 40 degrees is pegged in price to the current quotations of Brent;
• Arab Light brand, mined in Saudi Arabia, with a density of up to 33 degrees and a sulfur content of no more than 2%;
• Basra Light is mined in Iraq, it has a density of about 30 degrees and a sulfur content of 2.9%;
• Bonny Light is being pumped in Nigeria and influencing prices set in the Gulf region;
• Iranian Iran Heavy has a density not exceeding 30 degrees and sulfur content up to 1.75%;
• Kuwait Export oil with a density of up to 30 degrees API and a sulfur content of up to 2.7% is sold for export and has a great influence on price formation in the Persian Gulf region;
• Murban with a density of 39 degrees is mined in the UAE to fill the export basket of OPEC countries;
• Qatar Marine is mined in Qatar with a sulfur content of up to 1.5% and a density of 35.8 degrees;
• Girassol comes from Angola and Merey comes from Venezuela.

As you can see, the brands of crude oil sold on the market by the OPEC countries are very similar in their characteristics and therefore are very similar in price.