North Sea Brent was located in the North sea at the beginning of the 60's and is refined and consumed by; the UK, Norway, Germany, Denmark, and the Netherlands.
Brent Crude is a form of crude oil of which there are a number of different types. In the North Sea these include; Brent Crude, Sweet Crude, Brent Light, Ecofisk, Forties, and Oseberg. Brent Crude is the biggest of the family of North Sea crudes and its names originates from the bird the 'Brent Goose'. In 1971 Shell discovered a huge oil field off the North East of Shetland. Their policy was to name all oil fields after birds. The particular crude that the Brent field produced was therefore named 'Brent' Crude.
North Sea Brent Crude is the benchmark crude and is used to price two thirds of the world's internationally traded oil on the golbal market. The other well known classifications include Dubai Crude and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) which is a lighter and sweeter form of crude oil. Crude oil is considered to be 'sweet' if it contains less 0.5% sulphur compared to the higher level of sulphur found in 'sour' crude oil. High quality crude with a low sulphur content is commonly processed into petroleum/gasoline.
Around the world the most sought after form of crude oil is 'Light-sweet' crude oil as out of all forms of crude oil it is the easiest to process into gasoline, kerosene, and high quality diesel.
The term 'Sweet' came about in the Nineteenth century. In those days the early prospectors tasted and smelt small quantities of the oil to determine its quality. The 'sweetness' of the crude oil is in reference to the low levels of sulphur found in it which makes the oil taste mildly sweet with a pleasant smell. This term has remained ever since.
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
