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.

The most coveted, highly prized and sought after oil in both the North Sea and around the world is,’ Light-sweet crude,’ as its the easiest to refine into gasoline, kerosene and high quality diesel.

The term “sweet” originated because the low level of sulfur provides the oil with a mildly sweet taste and most pleasing smell. Nineteenth century prospectors that tasted and smelt small quantities of the oil to determine its quality thus named it ‘sweet’, and the term has remained to this day.

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