In the international petroleum industry, crude oil products are traded on various petrobourses based on established chemical profiles, delivery locations, and financial terms. The chemical profiles, or crude oil assays, specify important properties such as the oil's API gravity. The delivery locations are usually sea ports close to the oil fields from which the crude was obtained (and new fields are constantly being explored), and the pricing is usually quoted based on F.O.B. (free on board, without consideration of final delivery costs).

Benchmarks

The three most quoted oil products are North America's West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI), North Sea Brent Crude, and the UAE Dubai Crude, and their pricing is used as a barometer for the entire petroleum industry, although, in total, there are 46 key oil exporting countries. Brent Crude is typically priced at about $2 dollars over the WTI Spot price, which is typically priced $5 to $6 dollars above the EIA's Imported Refiner Acquisition Cost (IRAC) and OPEC Basket prices.

Although crude oil assays evaluate various chemical properties of the oil, the two most important properties determining a crude's value are it's density (measured as API specific gravity) and it's sulphur content (measured per mass). Crude oil is considered "heavy" if it is high in wax content, or "light" if low in wax content: an API gravity of 34 or higher is "light", between 31-33 is "medium", and 30 or below is "heavy". Crude is considered "sweet" if it is low in sulphur content (< 0.5%/weight), or "sour" if high (> 1.0%/weight). Generally, the higher the API gravity (the "lighter" it is), the more valuable the crude.

List of crude oil products

Product name	API gravity	Sulphur content (as % of mass)	Operating company	Location of field	Port of sale
Abu Bukhoosh	31.6°	2.0%		Abu Dhabi	Abu al-Bukhoosh
Agbami	47.2°	0.044%	Chevron	Nigeria	offshore
Aktobe	41.6°	0.73		Kazakhstan	Novorossiysk
Al Shaheen	26.51°	2.49%		Qatar	Al Shaheen Platform
Al-Jurf	30.0°	1.90%		Libya	Farwah FPSO
Alaska North Slope	31.9°	0.93%		United States	Alaska Marine Terminal
Alba (Equatorial Guinea)	53.0°	0.02%		Equatorial Guinea	Punta Europa
Alba (U.K.)	19.4°	1.24%	Chevron	United Kingdom	offshore
Albian Heavy (Athabasca)	19.6°	2.10%		Canada
Algerian Condensate	68.7°	0.001	In Amenas Joint Venture: Sonatrach, BP and StatoilHydro	Algeria	Bejaia
Amenam Blend	38.2°	0.12%		Nigeria
Amenam/Mars Blend	33.5°	0.94%		Nigeria
Ameriven-Hamaca	26°	1.55%		Venezuela	Puerto José
Amna	36°	0.17%		Libya
Anasuria			Shell	United Kingdom	FPSO Anasuria
Antan Blend	26.4°	0.27%		Nigeria	Knock Taggart FPSO/Antan Terminal
Arab Extra Light	39.4	1.09%		Saudi Arabia
Arab Heavy	27.7	2.87%		Saudi Arabia
Arab Light	32.8	1.97%		Saudi Arabia
Arab Light / Seg 17 Blend	32.1	2.19%		United States
Arab Medium	30.2	2.59%		Saudi Arabia
Arab Super Light
Arab Super Light Ardjuna
Arun Condensate
Åsgard Blend	50.5°	0.07%	StatoilHydro	Norway	offshore
Attaka
Azadegan
Azeri BTC	36.1°	0.14%	BP	Azerbaijan	Ceyhan, Turkey
Azeri Light	34.8°	0.15%	BP	Azerbaijan	Supsa Terminal, Georgia
BCF-17	16.5°	2.53%		Venezuela	La Salina
Bach Ho	33.8°	0.08%		Vietnam
Bachaquero 17	17°			Venezuela
Bachaquero 24	24°			Venezuela
Balder	30.1°	0.48%		Norway	Balder FPSO
Baobab	23°	0.39-0.46%		Ivory Coast	Baobab FPSO
Basrah Blend
Basrah Light	30.5°	2.90%		Iraq
Basrah Light/Mesa 30 Blend (35/65)	30.5°	1.63%		Iraq/USAIraq/USA
Bayou Choctaw Sour	32.2°	1.43%		United States
Bayou Choctaw Sweet	36.0°	0.36%		United States
Bayu Undan	55.9°	0.07%		Australia/East Timor	Liberdade FSO
Belanak	47.8°	0.02%		Indonesia	Belanak FPSO
Belayim Blend	27.5	2.40%		Egypt	Wadi Feiran
Belida
Benchamas
Beryl	37.5	0.42%		United Kingdom	Beryl
Bintulu Condensate	69.3	0.03%		Malaysia	Bintulu
Bonga	29.1	0.26%		Nigeria	Bonga FPSO
Bonito Sour	35.5°	0.99%		United States
Bonny Light	33.4°	0.16%		Nigeria
Bontang Condensate
Boscan	10.1°	5.70%		Venezuela	Bajo Grande
Bouri	26.3°	1.91%		Libya	Bouri
Bow River	24.7	2.10%		Canada
Brass River		0.14%		Nigeria
Brega	39.8°	0.20%		Libya	Marsa El Brega
Brent Blend	38.3°	0.37%		United Kingdom
Brunei Light
CPC Blend
Cabinda	32.4°	0.13%		Angola
Canadian Par	40°			Canada
Canadon Seco
Cano Limon	29.2°	0.50%		Colombia	Covenas
Captain	19.2°	0.70%		United Kingdom	Captain FPSO
Ceiba	29.9°	0.57%		Equatorial Guinea	Sendje Ceiba FPSO
Cepu	32°	0.15%		Indonesia	Cepu FSO
Cerro Negro	16°	3.34%		Venezuela	Puerto José
Champion	28.7°	0.13%		Brunei	Seria
Chinguetti	28.3°	0.49%		Mauritania	Berge Helene FPSO
Cinta	31.1°	0.09%		Indonesia	Cinta
Clair	23.7°	0.44%		United Kingdom	Sullom Voe
Cold Lake	21.2°	3.70%		Canada	Westridge Terminal
Cossack	47.7°	0.05%		Australia	Cossack Pioneer FPSO
Cusiana	43.1°	0.14%		Colombia
DUC	33.6°	0.26%		Denmark	Fredericia
Dalia	23.6°	0.51%	Total S.A.	Angola	offshore
Daqing	32.2°	0.11%		China	Dairen (Dalian)
Dar Blend	26.42°	0.12%		Sudan	Al-Khayr
Djeno	27.0°	0.47%		Congo
Doba	21.1°	0.10%		Chad	Kome Kribi 1 FSO
Doroud	34°	2.5%		Iran	Kharg Island
Draugen	39.9°	0.15%	Shell Oil Company	Norway	offshore
Dubai
Dukhan	41.1°	1.22%		Qatar	Umm Said
Dulang	37.6°	0.05%		Malaysia	Dulang FSO
Duri	20.8°	0.20%		Indonesia	Dumai
EA Crude	35.1°	0.08%		Nigeria
East MS Mix	30.9	2.10%		United States
Ekofisk Blend (Norway)	37.2°	0.23%		Norway
Ekofisk Blend	37.5°	0.23%	ConocoPhillips	United Kingdom	Teesside
El Sharara	43.1°	0.07%		Libya	Zawia terminal
Enfield	21.7°	0.13%		Australia	Nganhurra FPSO
Erha	31.8°	0.21%		Nigeria	Erha FPSO
Es Sider	37°			Libya
Escalante				Argentina	Comodoro Rivadavia
Escravos	34.2°	0.17%		Nigeria
Eugene Island	34.3°	1.18%		United States
Fateh	30.4°	2.13%		Dubai	Fateh
Fife				United States
Flotta	35.4°	1.22%		United Kingdom	Flotta
Foinaven	26.6°	0.40%		United Kingdom
Forcados (to Europe)	30.8°	0.16%		Nigeria
Foroozan Blend	29.7°	2.34%		Iran	Kharg Island
Forties Blend	40.3°	0.56%	BP	United Kingdom	Hound Point
Fulmar			Shell	United Kingdom
Furrial	30.0°	1.06%		Venezuela
Galeota Mix	37.8°	0.19%		Trinidad
Gippsland	42°			Australia
Girassol	29.9°	0.32%	Total S.A.	Angola	offshore
Glitne	32.9°	0.50%	StatoilHydro	Norway	offshore
Grane	18.7°	0.83%	StatoilHydro	Norway	Sture terminal
Gryphon
Gullfaks Blend	37.5°	0.22%	StatoilHydro	Norway	offshore
Handil Mix	43.9°	0.05%		Indonesia	Senipah
Hanze		Veba Oil		Netherlands
Harding	20.7°	0.59%		United Kingdom	Cromarty Firth
Heavy Hardisty	22°			Canada
Heavy Louisiana Sweet	32.9°	0.35%		United States
Heidrun	25.0°	0.52%	StatoilHydro	Norway	Mongstad terminal
Hibernia	34.4°	0.41%		Canada
Hungo Blend	29.1°	0.61%	ExxonMobil	Angola	Kizomba A FPSO offshore
Iran Heavy	30.2°	1.77%		Iran	Kharg Island
Iran Light	33.1°	1.50%		Iran	Kharg Island
Isthmus	33.4°	1.25%		Mexico	Dos Bocas, Salina Cruz
Jasmine
Jotun
Karachaganak Condensate	44.7°	0.81%		Kazakhstan	Novorossiysk, Odessa
Kashagan	42-48°	0.80%		Kazakhstan	Ceyhan
Khafji	28.5°	2.85%		Saudi Arabian Neutral Zone	Ras al-Khafji
Kikeh	34.9°	0.11%		Malaysia	Kikeh FPSO
Kirkuk (Netback Price at U.S. Gulf)	33.9°	2.26%		Iraq
Kissanje Blend	29.8°	0.38%	ExxonMobil	Angola	Kizomba B FPSO offshore
Kitina	36.4°	0.11%		Congo
Kittiwake
Kole	32.1°	0.33%		Cameroon	Kole
Kuito	19.0°	0.68%		Angola	Kuito FPSO
Kumkol	41.2°	0.11%		Kazakhstan	Yuzhnaya Ozereevka, Batumi
Kutubu Blend	46.6°	0.04%		Papua New Guinea	Kumul
Kuwait Blend	30.2°	2.72%		Kuwait
Labuan	32.0°	0.09%		Malaysia	Labuan
Laminaria
LA Mississippi Sweet	40.7°	0.34%		United States
Lavan Blend	34.2	1.93%		Iran	Lavan Island
Light Louisiana Sweet	35.6°	0.37%		United States
Lion Crude	39.6°	0.18%		Ivory Coast
Liuhua
Liverpool Bay°	45	0.21%		United Kingdom	Liverpool Bay Platform
Lloyd Blend	22°			Canada
Lufeng	33.3°	0.06%	StatoilHydro	China	offshore
MacCulloch
Mandji	30°			Gabon
Marib Light (Alif)	48.9°	0.07%	BP	Yemen
Marlim	19.6	0.67%		Brazil	Marlim FPSO
Mars Blend	30.3°	1.91%		United States
Mars/Mesa Blend (40/60)	30.1°	1.65%		Loop
Mars/Urals Blend (50/50)	31.1°	1.57%		United States
Masila	31.4°	0.54%		Yemen	Ash Shihr
Maureen
Maya	21.8°	3.33%		Mexico	Cayo Arcas, Salina Cruz
Medanito	34.9°	0.48%		Argentina	Puerto Rosales
Mediterranean Sidi Kerir (Heavy)	30°			Iran
Mediterranean Sidi Kerir (Light)	34°			Iran
Mesa 30	29.4°	1.12%		Venezuela
Minas	35.3°	0.09%		Indonesia	Dumai
Miri	32.3°	0.08%		Malaysia	Miri
Mixed Blend Sweet
Mondo	28.8°	0.44%	ExxonMobil	Angola	Mondo FPSO offshore
Murban	39°			Abu Dhabi
Naptha Koch	57.8°	0.11%		United States
N'kossa	41.0°	0.04%		Congo	N'Kossa
NFC II	57.95°	0.23%		Qatar	Ras Laffan
Northwest Shelf Condensate	61.2°	0.01%		Australia	Withnell Bay
Nang Nuang
Nanhai Light	40.1°	0.06%		China	Nan Hai Fa Xian FPSO
Napo	19°	2%		Ecuador	Esmeraldas
Nemba	40.9°	0.18%		Angola
New Zafiro Blend	29.5°	0.26%		Equatorial Guinea	Serpentina FPSO
Nile Blend	33.9°	0.06%		Sudan	Port Sudan
Njord	46.6°	0.05%	StatoilHydro	Norway	offshore
Norne	30.8°	0.22%	StatoilHydro	Norway	offshore
Nowruz/Soroush	18-19°	3.4-3.5%		Iran	Kharg Island
Odudu	30.5°	0.15%		Nigeria
Oguendjo	27.3	1.50%		Gabon
Okono	41.9°	0.06%		Nigeria
Olmeca	37.3°	0.84%		Mexico
Oman Blend	34°			Oman
Oriente	24.1°	1.51%		Ecuador
Ormen Lange condensate	52.3°	0.007%	StatoilHydro	Norway	Nyhamna
Oseberg Blend	37.8°	0.27%	StatoilHydro	Norway	Sture terminal
Ösgard Blend
Oso Condensate	45.7°	0.06%		Nigeria
Palanca/Soyo Blend	37.8°	0.16%		Angola
Panyu	28-32°	<0.25%		China	Panyu FPSO
Peng Lai	21.8°	0.29%		China	Peng Lai FPSO
Pennington	35°	0.08%		Nigeria	Pennington Terminal
Petrozuata Heavy	19.5°	2.69%	Petroleos de Venezuela S.A (PDVSA), Conoco	Venezuela
Pierce
Plutonio	32.6º	0.39%	BP	Angola
Port Hudson	45.0°	0.05%		United States
Poseidon Streams	29.6°	1.97%	BP	United States	Houma
Premium Albian	35.5°	0.04%		Canada
Qatar Marine	35.8°	1.47%		Qatar	Halul Island
Qua Iboe	36.3°	0.14%		Nigeria
Rabi Light	37.7°	0.15%		Gabon
Rang Dong	37.7°	0.05%		Vietnam	Rang Dong FPSO
Rincon	35.8°	0.39%		Argentina	San Vincente, Chile
Rio Grande de Norte	29.5°	0.33%		Brazil
Ross
Saharan Blend	45°	0.09%		Algeria
Santa Barbara	39.5°	0.49%		Venezuela
Sarir	37.6°	0.16%		Libya	Marsa El Hariga
Saudi Arabia Heavy	27°			Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia Light	34°			Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia Medium	31°			Saudi Arabia
Saxi Batuque Blend	32.8°	0.32%	ExxonMobil	Angola	Saxi Batuque FPSO offshore
Schiehallion Blend	25.5°	0.47%	BP	United Kingdom	Sullom Voe
Senipah	51.9°	0.03%		Indonesia	Senipah
Seria Light	36.2°	0.08%		Brunei
Seria Light Export
Shah Deniz Condensate	47°	0.03%		Azerbaijan	Ceyhan
Shengli	24.2°	0.84%		China	Qingdao
Siberian Light	35.1°	0.57%		Russia	Tuapse
Sincor	30-32°	0.13%		Venezuela	Puerto José
Siri	38.1°	0.22%		Denmark	Siri
Sirri	33.4°	1.81%		Iran	Sirri Island
Sirtica	42.2°	0.40%		Libya	Marsa El Brega
Sleipner Condensate	62.0°	0.02%	StatoilHydro	Norway	Kårstø
Snorre
Snøhvit Condensate	60.1°	0.019%	StatoilHydro	Norway	Melkøya
Sokol (Sakhalin I)	37.9°	0.23%		Russia	DeKastri
Souedieh	24.1°	3.90%		Syria	Banias, Tartous
South Arne	37.71°	0.21%		Denmark
Southern Green Canyon	30.4°	2.24%		United States	Port Arthur, Texas and Texas City, Texas
South Louisiana Sweet	35.9°	0.33%		United States
Statfjord	39.1°	0.22%	StatoilHydro	Norway	offshore
Su Tu Den (Black Lion)	36°	0.04%	ConocoPhillips	Vietnam	Su Tu Den Terminal
Suez Blend	30.8°	1.49%		Egypt	Ras Shukheir
Syncrude Sweet Blend	30.5-33.6°	0.07-0.13%		Canada
Syrian Light	37.7°	0.74%		Syria	Banias, Tartous
Tapis Blend	45.2°	0.03%		Malaysia	Tapis
Tempa Rossa
Tengiz
Terra Nova	33.2	0.48%		Canada	Whiffen Head
Thamama Condensate	58.4°	0.11%		Abu Dhabi	Jebel Dhanna
Tia Juana Heavy	11°	2.66%		Venezuela	Punta Cardon
Tia Juana Light	31.9°	1.18%		Venezuela	La Salina
Triton	37.5°	0.32%		United Kingdom	Triton FPSO
Troll Blend	31.1°	0.21%	StatoilHydro	Norway	Mongstad terminal
Turkmen Blend	33.0°	0.15-0.29%		Turkmenistan	Aladzha, Okarem
Ukpokiti	41.7°	0.08%		Nigeria
Umm Shaif	36.5°	1.39		Abu Dhabi	Das Island
Upper Zakum	32.9°	1.78%		Abu Dhabi	Das Island
Urals (to Mediterannean)	31.7°	1.35%		Russia / C.I.S.
Varg	37.9°	0.23%	Talisman	Norway	offshore
Vasconia	24.5°	1.01%		Colombia
Vityaz (Sakhalin II)	34.6°	0.22%		Russia	Molikpaq-Prigorodnoye
Volve	27.9°	1.8%	StatoilHydro	Norway	offshore
Wafra	24.5°	3.80%		Saudi Arabian Neutral Zone	Mina Saud
West Seno	38°	0.12%		Indonesia	Santan
West Texas Intermediate	39.6°	0.24%		United States	Cushing, Oklahoma
West Texas Sour	31.7°	1.28%		United States	Midland, Texas
Western Canada Select	20.3°	3.43%		Canada	Hardisty
White Rose	29.8°	0.32%		Canada	SeaRose FPSO
Widuri	33.2°	0.07%		Indonesia	Widuri
Williams Sugarland Blend	40.9°	0.20%		United States
Wytch Farm			BP	United Kingdom	Hamble
Xikomba	34.7°	0.39%	ExxonMobil	Angola	offshore
Yoho Crude	39.3°	0.08%		Nigeria
New Zafiro Blend	29.5°	0.26%		Equatorial Guinea	Serpentina FPSO
Zakum	40.2°	1.01%		Abu Dhabi	Das Island
Zarzaitine	42.8°	0.06%		Algeria	La Skhirra, Tunisia
Puerto José	32°	0.13%	Venezuela	Total S.A.	Jose terminal
Zueitina	41.5°	0.31%		Libyan Arab Jamahiriya	Zueitina, Libya

Sources

• U.S. Energy Information Administration: World Crude Oil Prices
• BP Crude Grades
• Intertek: Crude Oil Grades and Types
• MeGlobalOil: Carriage of Heavy Grade Oil
• StatoilHydro.com: Crude oil assays
• EnergyIntel.com: The Crude Oils and their Key Characteristics
• CAPLINE SYSTEM CRUDE OIL PROPERTIES AND QUALITY INDICATORS

References