Crude oil

Liza Crude Oil

Liza crude oil is a medium-sweet crude from Guyana's massive deepwater Stabroek Block, known for its ~32 API gravity and low sulfur content, making it a valuable, easily refined oil produced by ExxonMobil & partners, with production starting in 2019 from FPSOs like Liza Destiny and Liza Unity, significantly boosting Guyana's role in global oil supply.

Key Characteristics

Type: Medium-Sweet Crude
API Gravity: Around 32° (medium density)
Sulfur Content: About 0.5% (sweet)

Origin & Production

Field: Discovered in the Stabroek Block offshore Guyana in 2015.
Operator: ExxonMobil (45%), with partners Hess (30%) and CNOOC (25%).
Facilities: Produced via Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessels like Liza Destiny and Liza Unity.

Sarir crude oil an.pdf

Messla Crude Oil

Messla crude oil comes from the significant Messla Oil Field in Libya's Sirte Basin, a major asset of the Arabian Gulf Oil Company (AGOCO) (AGOCO), known for its light, sweet characteristics (high API gravity, low sulfur), making it a valuable blend component, often mixed with Sarir crude for refining. Production involves complex operations, including managing power supply from the nearby Sarir field and upgrading infrastructure like manifolds, with ongoing efforts by Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC) (NOC) and partners like BP to boost output.

Key Characteristics & Location:

Origin: Messla Field, Sirte Basin, Libya.
Type: Light crude oil (API gravity > 30°).
Sulfur: Low sulfur content, classifying it as "sweet" crude.
Significance: A major Libyan oil producer, often processed with Sarir crude.

Production & Operations:

Discovery: Discovered in 1971, the field is a large stratigraphic accumulation.
Infrastructure: Production relies on local resources for repairs, like rebuilt manifolds, and requires stable power, often sourced from the Sarir field.
Gas Utilization: Projects are in place to capture associated gas, reducing emissions and powering the region.

Sarir crude oil an.pdf

Bonny Light

Bonny Light crude is a highly prized, sweet (low sulfur), light crude oil from Nigeria, known for its high yields of valuable lighter products like gasoline and diesel, making it economically attractive for refiners due to lower processing costs and environmental impact, though its export faces challenges from pipeline issues and sabotage in the Niger Delta.

Key Characteristics:

Origin: Produced in Nigeria, discovered at Oloibiri in the Niger Delta in 1956.
Type: Light crude oil, often classified as "sweet" (low sulfur).
API Gravity: Around 32.9° API, indicating its lighter density.
Sulfur Content: Very low (around 0.14-0.16%), reducing refinery corrosion and pollution.
Refining Value: High demand because it produces large quantities of high-value products like gasoil, distillates, and gasoline, requiring less desulfurization.

Market & Production:

Major Export: One of Nigeria's primary crude oil grades for export.
Challenges: Production and export volumes are often impacted by pipeline vandalism, spills, and maintenance issues affecting key infrastructure like the Nembe Creek Trunk Line.

In essence, Bonny Light is a premium crude oil favored by global refineries for its quality and efficiency, despite ongoing production disruptions in Nigeria.

Sarir crude oil an.pdf

Sarir Crude Oil

Sarir crude oil comes from the large Sarir oil field in the southeast Libyan Sahara, transported via pipeline to Tobruk; it's a light, waxy, low-sulfur crude, classified as a "light sweet" grade, known for its high API gravity (around 38) but also its waxy nature requiring specific handling, often blended with Messla crude for processing, and is a significant part of Libya's oil exports, managed by the National Oil Corporation (NOC).

Key Characteristics

Type: Light, low-sulfur, high pour-point (waxy) crude.
API Gravity: Around 38 API, indicating its light nature.
Location: Sirt Basin, Libya.
Transportation: A 514 km pipeline carries it from the Sarir field to the Tobruk terminal.

Production & Operations

Operator: Managed by the Arabian Gulf Oil Company (AGOCO), an NOC subsidiary.
Challenges: Water ingress in wells has necessitated pumps, and power issues have been addressed with new turbines.
Blending: Often blended with Messla crude for refining.

Market Significance

Export Grade: A major Libyan export, with formula prices set by NOC.
Market Role: Valued by European refiners, despite its waxy properties.

In essence, Sarir crude is a valuable Libyan light crude, produced from a massive field and transported to market, facing operational challenges typical of large oil fields.

Sarir crude oil an.pdf

Maya Crude Oil

Maya crude oil is Mexico's primary heavy, sour (high sulfur) oil, known for its lower API gravity (21-22°) and high sulfur content (around 3.4%), making it ideal for sophisticated refineries with high-conversion units, especially on the U.S. Gulf Coast, as it yields less gasoline/diesel in simpler schemes but is valuable for heavy products. Produced mainly from the Bay of Campeche fields like Cantarell and Ku Maloob Zaap, it's a major component of Mexico's oil exports, with pricing linked to complex formulas reflecting market dynamics and refinery needs.

Key Characteristics

Type: Heavy, Sour Crude
API Gravity: 21-22° (Heavy)
Sulfur Content: ~3.4% (Sour)
Yield: Lower gasoline/diesel; requires high-conversion refining
Origin: Bay of Campeche (Cantarell, Ku Maloob Zaap)

Refining & Market

Refining Needs: Requires advanced refineries with coking or Fluid Catalytic Cracking (FCC) units to maximize value.
Primary Buyers: Historically, U.S. Gulf Coast refiners (e.g., Valero, ExxonMobil, Chevron, Pemex Deer Park JV).
Pricing: Priced as a differential (K-factor) to benchmarks like WTI Houston and Brent, with formulas adjusted for market changes and sulfur regulations.

Sarir crude oil an.pdf

Isthmus Crude Oil

Isthmus crude oil is a medium-sour crude from Mexico, known for its 32-33° API gravity and around 1.8% sulfur content, making it similar to Arab Light, valuable for producing gasoline and diesel, transported via pipelines like the Trans-Isthmus, and a key Mexican export alongside heavier Maya and lighter Olmeca crudes.

Key Characteristics:

Type: Medium Sour Crude
API Gravity: Around 32-33° API (degrees Plato)
Sulfur Content: Approximately 1.8% by weight
Refining Value: Good yields of gasoline and intermediate distillates (diesel, jet fuel) in refineries with Fluid Catalytic Cracker (FCC) units.
Benchmark: Serves as a benchmark crude for pricing.

Origin & Transport:

Source: Extracted from Mexico's southern and marine regions, including the Sureste Basin.
Pipeline: The Trans-Isthmus Pipeline moves it across Mexico's narrow Isthmus of Tehuantepec from the Gulf (Coatzacoalcos) to the Pacific (Salina Cruz).
Loading Ports: Exported from ports like Dos Bocas and Salina Cruz.

Sarir crude oil an.pdf

Basra light

Basra Light crude oil is a specific Iraqi grade of crude, historically known as a medium, low-sulfur (sweet), medium-API (around 31.4°) oil exported from southern Iraq's terminals, but its export status changed as Iraq introduced Basra Medium to improve consistency, with Basra Light being kept for domestic use around 2022 due to quality issues, though it was a significant part of Iraq's oil portfolio.

Key Characteristics (Historical/Typical)

Density: Medium (~31.4° API).
Sulfur Content: Relatively low, but inconsistent, leading to issues (around 2.74%).
Flow: Light crude, flows freely at room temperature.
Export Point: Al Basra Oil Terminal (ABOT).

Evolution & Status

Quality Challenges: Faced consistency problems, prompting Iraq's State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO) to introduce Basra Medium in 2021.
Export Shift: By January 2022, Iraq stopped exporting Basra Light, redirecting it to domestic refineries to improve overall quality of exports.
New Flagship: Basra Medium effectively replaced Basra Light as Iraq's primary light export grade.

Sarir crude oil an.pdf

Murban Crude Oil

Murban crude oil is the UAE's primary, high-quality, light sweet crude from Abu Dhabi, known for its consistent quality, high production, and use in making gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel, with its futures traded on ICE as a key Middle Eastern benchmark, offering physical delivery and attracting major global refiners. Discovered in 1958, it's produced by ADNOC and is vital for Asian economies, representing a significant part of global oil supply.

Key Characteristics

Type: Light, sweet crude oil.
Source: Onshore fields in Abu Dhabi, UAE, including the Bab field.
API Gravity: Around 35.8.
Uses: Highly sought after for refining into gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, and petrochemicals.

Sarir crude oil an.pdf