What are the grades of crude oil?
Types of Crude Oil
- Class A: Light, Volatile Oils. These oils are:
- Class B: Non-Sticky Oils. These oils have a waxy or oily feel.
- Class C: Heavy, Sticky Oils. Class C oils are characteristically:
- Class D: Nonfluid Oils. Class D oils are:
What is the API of Brent crude?
38.06
Brent Crude has a density of approximately 835 kg/m3, being equivalent to a specific gravity of 0.835 or an API gravity of 38.06.
What is API in crude oil?
API gravity is a commonly used index of the density of a crude oil or refined products. API stands for the American Petroleum Institute, which is the industry organization that created this measure.
How do you determine the quality of crude oil?
Sulfur content and weight are the two qualities by which crude oil is typically judged. High-sulfur, heavy oils are the lowest quality and the least expensive on the global market. Low-sulfur, light oils bring the highest price because they are of the highest quality.
What is medium crude oil?
Medium crude oils are the most common type of crude oil. They are more viscous than light crude, with an API gravity between 22.3° and 31.1° API. However, they are less volatile than light crude oils and are therefore less susceptible to evaporation.
What is the highest quality crude oil?
The higher the sulfur content and the heavier the density, the lower quality the crude oil. A lighter density oil with low sulfur content (like West Texas Intermediate (WTI) from Texas) is the highest quality, which means it sells for more money. Prices can vary significantly based on quality differences.
Is oil refining upstream or downstream?
After crude oil is discovered and extracted—the upstream process—it’s shipped and transported—the midstream process. Thereafter, the oil is refined, marketed, distributed, and sold, which is the downstream process. However, the refining of crude oil to petroleum products may be conducted in midstream operations.
What is the difference between Brent and WTI oil?
WTI is the benchmark crude for North America. Brent crude oil futures trade on the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE). 4 Brent crude is traded internationally, so the delivery locations will vary by country. Since both types of oil are used as benchmarks, different countries will use them in different manners.
How is oil API calculated?
The formula for API gravity is API = (141.5/SG) -131.5 where SG is the specific gravity of the petroleum liquid being measured. For example, for an API gravity of 50, add 131.5 to obtain 181.5. Divide 141.5 by (131.5 + API gravity) to obtain the specific gravity of the oil.
What does the US crude inventories indicator tell us?
The figure shows how much oil and product is available in storage.The indicator gives an overview of US petroleum demand. If the increase in crude inventories is more than expected, it implies weaker demand and is bearish for crude prices.
What is the American Petroleum Institute inventory indicator?
The American Petroleum Institute reports inventory levels of US crude oil, gasoline and distillates stocks. The figure shows how much oil and product is available in storage.The indicator gives an overview of US petroleum demand.
What does a decline in inventories mean for crude oil?
The same can be said if a decline in inventories is less than expected. If the increase in crude is less than expected, it implies greater demand and is bullish for crude prices.
