North Sea Brent Crude was originially discovered in the early part of the 1960’s and is refined and consumed by; the UK, Norway, Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands.

Brent Crude Oil is the biggest of all classifications of North Sea oil which there are; Brent Crude, Brent Light Sweet Crude, Oseberg, Ecofisk and Forties. The name ‘Brent’ comes from the bird the ‘Brent Goose’. In the easrly 60’s Exxon and Shell had a policy of naming their newly found oil fields in the North Sea after birds. The actual giant Brent oilfield in the North Sea from which the first Brent crude was taken, was discovered in 1971 by Shell in the North East of Shetland, in Scotland.

Other renowned classifications of crude oil include Dubai Crude, and West Texas Intermediate (WTI), which is a light and sweet form of crude oil. Crude Oil is considered ’sweet’ if contains less than 0.5% sulphur, if the sulphur content is higher than 0.5% it is considered ’sour’. Crude oil with a low sulphur content is the most coveted form of curde and widely acknowledeged as premium quality. It is most commonly refined into petroelum. North Sea Brent crude is used to price two thirds of the world’s internationally traded supplies.

In the North Sea and around the world the most highly prized form of oil is ‘Light-sweet’ crude, as it is the easiest to refine into gasoline, kerosene and high quality diesel.

The term ‘Sweet’ originated in the nineteenth century. In those days the early prospectors tasted and smelt the newly struck oil to determine its quality. The low levels of sulphur found in the oil provides it with a mildly sweet taste and pleasant aroma, the term has remained ever since.

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