• North Sea Brent Crude is a blended light sweet oil produced from the North Sea in the early 1960s.

  • Pricing for Brent crude from the North Sea, classified as sweet light crude, is the most widely used benchmark for other global oil markets.
  • Light sweet crude is easier to process into products such as gasoline, meaning it tends to sell for higher prices in commodity markets.
  • After the oil crisis of the late 1970s, the vast majority of crude oil sales were made in the futures market.
  • Investors typically trade Brent oil commodities either as a hedge or on a speculative basis. Those in hedging positions include companies that produce and sell crude oil, as well as refineries or other businesses that refine oil.