Light Sweet Crude Oil
By Oil and Gas | Category: Oil and Gas Industry
Light sweet crude oil is an especially sought-after form of crude oil which can be used to make products like gasoline, kerosene, and high-quality diesel. Although many consumers think that most crude oil is essentially the same, in fact there are a number of classifications for crude oil which are used to divide the oil by impurities and consistency. Some forms of crude oil are considered more valuable than others, with light sweet crude typically commanding the highest prices on the market.
Sweet crude is a form of crude oil which has a sulfur content below .5%. Typically sweet crude also has lower levels of other impurities, and the name is a reference to the flavor; sweet crude has a faintly sweet taste, for those willing to give it a try. (Although it should be noted that actual ingestion of sweet crude oil is not advised.) The lower levels of impurities in sweet crude oil make it easier to process, because the resulting products do not need to be filtered as extensively. In contrast, it is possible to find sour crude oil, which has a higher sulfur content.
Light crude is crude oil which has a low percentage of wax. This means that the viscosity of the oil is much lower, which makes it easier to pump, transport, and handle. Light crude is also less likely to clog processing systems. This is in contrast with heavy crude, crude oil which is thicker and of generally lower quality.
In the case of light sweet crude oil, the crude oil is both light, with a low wax content, and sweet, with a low sulfur content. It also tends to contain a larger percentage of fractions which can be converted into fuels which are in high demand. Because light sweet crude oil has so many desirable traits, it is often a very desirable product, with many refineries preferring to work with light sweet crude oil whenever possible. The clamor for light sweet crude oil puts heavy pressure on areas with large deposits of light sweet crude oil, such as Alaska.
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