Oil brands in the world. Russian oil grades

In the last decade, the issue of energy resources is increasingly being addressed by the media. Not an exception and oil. The cost of this type of hydrocarbon raw materials 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

A grade or grade of oil is a qualitative characteristic of raw materials, extraction of which is carried out in one field, differing from others in its composition and uniformity. Oil in different wells has characteristics peculiar to it only, therefore there was a need for its classification. To simplify the export system, a conditional division into light and heavy oil was adopted.

Worldwide, more than 20 brands are produced annually. For example, the main export brands of oil in Russia are Urals heavy oil and light Siberian Light, while in total 5 varieties are extracted. In the United States there are more than a dozen brands. In view of this diversity, not all of them can be sold on international exchanges. Therefore, the price of each brand is determined with respect to marker varieties - British oil Brent, American WTI and Middle East Middle East Crude.

The cost of each brand of oil is determined by the discount or markup relative to the grade, depending on the quality of the raw materials. For example, heavy oil with a high content of impurities and sulfur will be traded cheaper than the same Brent or WTI.

Characteristics of raw materials

As a rule, oil is described as a black oily liquid, however this definition is not true in all cases. The color range can range from black to yellow and transparent.

The most important characteristics are also the viscosity and melting coefficients . Some brands of oil can harden at low temperatures, others remain liquid under all weather conditions. Because of this heterogeneity of characteristics, a conditional separation of varieties into light, medium and heavy varieties is accepted.

In pure form, this raw material is practically not used, therefore, to produce a commercial 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, because of them they receive such products as gasoline, diesel fuel, kerosene. Heavy grades 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 increased 4-fold after the ban on the export of raw materials from Arab countries. In the early 80's, during the crisis in the Middle Eastern countries, the value fluctuated between $ 15 and $ 35.

Oil with low sulfur content is called "sweet", and with high - "sour". This name was given to it, because in the 19th century oil workers tried it. The cost of processing acidic oil is much higher than when processing sweet. Therefore, sweet is always in price.

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

In London, there is an international oil exchange where over 50,000 futures for various grades of oil are traded during the day, as well as Brent blends.

Deliveries of physical oil are carried out only for 1% of concluded futures contracts.

Oil grades in Russia

A total of 6 kinds of oil are exported from Russia.

Urals is mined in the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous District, 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 oil is determined by its discount to the North Sea grade Brent. This variety is obtained by mixing West Siberian oil with Volga region, which is why its quality suffers. In the last decade attempts have been made to exclude from the Urals the Tatarstan raw materials. The price of Urals oil is formed on the RTS commodity exchange .

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

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

Sokol is characterized by a low content of impurities. Is explored on the island of Sakhalin. The export is through the Khabarovsk Territory.

ESPO is characterized by low density and low sulfur content, produced in Eastern Siberia. Transported via the ESPO pipeline.

Vityaz is a Sakhalin grade of oil, similar in quality to Omani light oil. It is 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 not 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 can vary.

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

• Light (high density);
• Crude (low content of wax);
• Heavy;
• Sweet (little sulfur).

Reference grades

In total, there are 3 grades of oil in the world, which are considered to be standard.

Brent (crude) - North Sea raw materials of medium density, contains up to 0.5% of sulfur impurities. Used in the manufacture of medium 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 varieties 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% of sulfur impurities.

The grades included in the OPEC export basket

OPEC (organization of oil-exporting countries) uses the "OPEC basket" index to calculate the value of a particular variety. 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 basis 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. In the world there are more than 20 different varieties of "black gold". In this case, each variety is distinguished by its unique chemical composition. Brent, WTI and Dubai Crude are considered to be the main reference marks influencing pricing on a global scale. The brands of Russian oil exported are Urals, Siberian Light, Arctic Oil, Sokol, ESPO, Vityaz. Futures contracts for the supply of raw materials are concluded on world commodity exchanges. Mostly these are the New York and London stock exchanges. In Russia, the RTS Exchange operates (Moscow).