Classification of oil.

There are several main groups into which oil is classified; this was done to unify this energy carrier during exchange trading.

The classification is primarily influenced by the composition of the oil, namely the amount of various impurities; the so-called grade depends on them.

The main types of oil that are traded on stock exchanges are Brent, WTI, Urals, these designations are deciphered as follows: Brent

is the most common brand of oil, sometimes it is also called the standard, it is on its basis that prices for other types of oil are formed, this happens by taking away a discount or adding a premium to higher quality varieties.

Among other things, Brent is also one of the most expensive varieties.

The main deposits are located on the European shelf. The sulfur content is only 0.37%, which is not a high figure. WTI - its properties are similar to the previous option, but since WTI is mined in North America and requires expensive transportation to the processing site, its price is usually lower.

Urals is a heavier grade of oil, produced in Russia, the amount of sulfur in it already ranges from 0.61 to 1.8%.

But it already has lower liquidity and the number of contracts concluded in this case is much lower than in the two previous options. In addition to those listed, there are also a lot of other types of oil - Kirkuk - produced in Iraq, Light Sweet - in the USA, Iran Heavy in Iran.
Production volumes are no longer so large and therefore do not have a decisive influence on the price of oil.

We can say that oil can be classified according to its composition, place of production and method of production.

Sometimes one country can export several types of oil at once. The specifics of oil trading are described in the article “ How to sell and buy oil on the stock exchange .”