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BENCHMARKS OF CRUDE OILS Presentation · February 2016 DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.1.4306.5207

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LECTURE 4: BENCHMARKS OF CRUDE OILS

Hassan Z. Harraz [email protected] 2015- 2016

Prof. Dr. H.Z. Harraz Presentation

Outline of Lecture • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

INTRODUCTION DENSITY AND API GRAVITY OF CRUDE OIL SWEET AND SOUR CRUDE OIL; BENCHMARK OF CRUDE OIL; West Texas Intermediate (WTI) Brent Blend; Dated Brent What is Dated Brent? Dubai; OPEC Basket (ORB) Bonny Light; Tapis Crude; Mexico's Isthmus; Maya; CONTRACTS; FUTURE TRENDS ON CRUDE QUALITY CHARACTERISTICS

© Hassan Harraz 2016

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INTRODUCTION Crude oil is not a single, indistinguishably homogenous substance without any unique differentiation, but this is actually not the case at all…………….! In fact, there are many different kinds of oil. Unrefined crude oil ranges in  density and consistency… from …very thin, light weight and volatile fluidity to an extremely thick, semi-solid heavy weight oil.  the color ….. from ….a light, golden yellow to the very deepest, darkest black imaginable. The petroleum industry often uses references to “Geographical Locations” in order to descriptively classify crude oils.  This is due to the fact that oil from different geographical locations will naturally have its own very unique properties.  These oils vary dramatically from one another when it comes to their viscosity, volatility and toxicity.  The term “Viscosity” relates to the oil's resistance to flow. Higher viscosity crude oil is much more difficult to pump from the ground, transport and refine. “Volatility” describes how quickly the oil evaporates into the air. Oils that are naturally highly volatile need additional effort to ensure that temperature regulation and sealing procedures loose as little oil as possible. “Toxicity” refers to how dangerously poisonous the oil & its refining processes are to local life, from humans, to flora and fauna as well as other environmentally fragile living entities and organisms.

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PETROLEUM Asphaltics

Saturates n-alkanes C5 - C44 branched alkanes cycloalkanes (napthenes)

nitrogen oxygen sulfur

Aromatics single ring condensed ring

containing compounds

Uses of Crude Oil

Uses of Crude Oil

The Uses of Crude Oil Gasoline

Distillate Fuel Oil

Kerosene Jet Fuel Liquefied Refinery Gases

Residual Fuel Oil Still Gas

Coke PETROCHEM ICAL FEEDSTOCKS

Asphalt and Road Oil Lubricants

Kerosene Gasoline Distillate Fuel Oil Other Kerosene Jet Fuel Residual Fuel Oil Liquefied Refinery Gases Still Gas Coke Asphalt and Road Oil PETROCHEMICAL FEEDSTOCKS Lubricants Kerosene Other

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CRUDE OIL HYDROCARBONS ALIPHATICS 25%

C1 - C60

AROMATICS 17%

(C6H5)n

NON-HYDROCARBONS NAPHTHENES 50% CYCLOALKANES

SULFURS

NITROGENS

<8%

<1%

OXYGENS <3%

METALLICS <100PPM

O

SH N H

COOH

S

Composition of Crude Oil

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1) THE HYDROCARBONS IN CRUDE OIL  The hydrocarbons in crude oil can generally be divided into four categories: i) Un-Saturates  Paraffins: These can make up 15 to 60% of crude and have a carbon to hydrogen ratio of 1:2, which means they contain twice the amount of hydrogen as they do carbon. These are generally straight or branched chains, but never cyclic (circular) compounds. Paraffins are the desired content in crude and what are used to make fuels. The shorter the paraffins are, the lighter the crude is.  Aromatics: These can constitute anywhere from 3 to 30% of crude. They are undesirable because burning them results in soot. They have a much less hydrogen in comparison to carbon than is found in paraffins. They are also more viscous. They are often solid or semi-solid when an equivalent paraffin would be a viscous liquid under the same conditions. ii) Saturates  Napthenes: These can make up 30 to 60% of crude and have a carbon to hydrogen ratio of 1:2. These are cyclic compounds and can be thought of as cycloparaffins. They are higher in density than equivalent paraffins and are more viscous.  Asphaltics: These average about 6% in most crude. They have a carbon to hydrogen ratio of approximately 1:1, making them very dense. They are generally undesirable in crude, but their 'stickiness' makes them excellent for use in road construction.

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2) THE CLASSIFICATION OF PETROLEUM  For several decades now the crude oil or petroleum industry has classified the raw crude by geographic region (i.e., the location from which it was extracted).  Further classification of petroleum, derived from the density of the raw petroleum (API gravity) and its various nonhydrocarbon components (especially sulfur), is then added to the geographic designation.  The end result of all this classification helps: i) determine the price of a specific barrel of crude, as well as ii) how much demand there is for that particular oil.  When considering the petroleum classification it is important to consider the fact that the overall classification will have an effect on the value, not just the physical properties.  Petroleum with a geographical classification from one region of the world may be expensive to transport to another region of the world regardless of the suitability of the raw petroleum as an overall substance.  Lighter crude commands a higher price because it contains more hydrocarbon chains that can be easily refined to make gasoline and diesel, which are in high demand.  The lower the sulfur content, the higher the price as well because low-sulfur, sweet crude requires less refining.  Classification of petroleum also indicates the best use for a particular field of petroleum:  One oil type is not necessarily “Better” than another, but rather the different types are useful in different applications.  Light crude oil is preferable for refining into gasoline as it produces a far higher yield than heavy.  Sweet petroleum is often more desirable than sour petroleum as its use will cause far less impact on the environment in the form of harmful emissions as it is burned.

The petroleum industry generally classifies crude oil by:i) Its sulfur content. ii) Its API gravity. iii) The geographic location it is produced in (Benchmarks of Crude Oils).

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a) Sulfur content of Crude Oil:Depending on the amount of sulfur the crude oil is referred to as sweet or sour.  Low sulphur (<0.5% weight) is called sweet .  High sulphur (>1% weight) is called sour.  Sweet oil commands a higher price than Sour oil because it has fewer environmental problems and requires less refining to meet sulfur standards. ii) Sour Crude Oil

i) Sweet Crude Oil The terms sweet and sour are a reference to the sulfur content of crude oil. Early prospectors would taste oil to determine its quality, with low sulfur oil actually tasting sweet. Crude is currently considered sweet if it contains less than 0.5% sulfur. Sweet crude is easier to refine and safer to extract and transport than sour crude. Because sulfur is corrosive, light crude also causes less damage to refineries and thus results in lower maintenance costs over time. Due to all these factors, sweet crude commands up to a $15 dollar premium per barrel over sour. Sweet crude is easier to refine and safer to extract and transport than sour crude. Because sulfur is corrosive, light crude also causes less damage to refineries and thus results in lower maintenance costs over time. Sweet crude oil is more preferred by refineries as it contains valuable chemicals which is needed to produce the light distillates and high quality feed stocks. Sweet crude oil is more preferred by refineries as it contains valuable chemicals which is needed to produce the light distillates and high quality feed stocks. Major locations where sweet crude is found include the Appalachian Basin in Eastern North America, Western Texas, the Bakken Formation of North Dakota and Saskatchewan, the North Sea of Europe, North Africa, Australia, and the Far East including Indonesia.

 Sour crude oil will have greater than 0.5% sulfur and some of this will be in the form of hydrogen sulfide. Sour crude also contains more carbon dioxide. Most sulfur in crude is actually bonded to carbon atoms, nevertheless, high quantities of hydrogen sulfide in sour crude can pose serious health problems or even be fatal.  Hydrogen sulfide is famous for its “rotten egg” smell, which is only noticed at low concentrations. At moderate concentrations, hydrogen sulfide can cause respiratory and nerve damage. At high concentrations, it is instantly fatal. Exposure to high levels of hydrogen sulfide is thought to be in part responsible for Gulf War Syndrome, which is characterized by chronic fatigue, headaches, dizziness, memory problems, serious breathing problems, and even birth defects. Hydrogen sulfide is so much of a risk that sour crude has to be stabilized via removal of hydrogen sulfide before it can be transported by oil tankers.  Sour crude is sold at a discount to lighter sweeter grades. Because the sulfur compounds in the crude oils are generally harmful impurities, they are toxic, have an unpleasant odour, contribute to the deposition of resin and in combination with water causes intense corrosion. Even though it does not restrains the production of inconvenient crude and the data shows that from 1995 to 2011 medium sour and sour crude has been the major hydrocarbon produced in the world taking about 55 to 60% of whole crude production.  Sour crude is more common in the North America (Alberta (Canada), United States' portion of the Gulf of Mexico, and Mexico), South America (Venezuela, Colombia, and Ecuador), Middle East (Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait, Iran, Syria, and Egypt). Crude produced by OPEC Member Nations also tends to be relatively sour, with an average sulfur content of 1.77%.

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b) API (American Petroleum Institute) Gravity: A specific gravity scale developed by the American Petroleum Institute (API) for measuring the relative density of various petroleum liquids, expressed in degrees.  The specific gravity or relative density, which is equal to the density of the substance divided by the density of water (density of water is 1000 kg/m3).  So if the API gravity is greater than 10, then the oil is lighter and floats on water, and if less than 10, then oil is heavier than water and will sinks. It is given by:API Gravity (°) = (141.5 ÷ specific gravity of the oil at 60ºF (15.6ºC)) − 131  Most of API gravity crude oil values would fall between 10° and 70° API gravity .  Crude oil quality is measured in terms of density and divided into four groups namely,: light, medium, heavy and extra heavy crudes (Figures 1& 2).  Crude oil may be considered:  Light if it has low density (or high API Gravity) or  Heavy if it has high density (or low API Gravity).  Gravity reflects the composition of the crude: proportion of light vs. heavier fractions.  Light crude oil is more desirable than heavy oil since it produces a higher yield of gasoline.  Density of oil is determined by the length of the hydrocarbons it contains.  If it contains a great deal of long-chain hydrocarbons, the petroleum will be denser.  If it contains a greater proportion of short-chain hydrocarbons it will be less dense.  Besides chain length, the ratio of carbon to hydrogen also helps to determine the density of a particular hydrocarbon.  The greater the amount of hydrogen in relation to carbon, the lighter the hydrocarbon will be.  Less dense oil will float on top of denser oil and is generally easier to pump.

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Depending on API gravity crude oils are classified as follows:

Figure 1 Classification of petroleum, heavy oil, and bitumen by API gravity and viscosity (Speight, 2007) © Hassan Harraz 2016

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3) DIFFERENT CRUDE OIL QUALITIES  Crude oil comes in very different qualities  The two key measures are: Gravity (API) Sulphur content Gravity reflects the composition of the crude: proportion of light vs. heavier fractions Table 1 Quality levels - API gravity and sulfur content (Eni, 2012) Crude Oil Class

Property Range Gravity (ºAPI)

Sulfur (wt. %)

Ultra Light

>50

<0.1

Light & Sweet

35-50

<0.5

Light & Medium Sour

35-50

0.5-1

Light & Sour

35-50

>1

Medium & Sweet

26-35

<0.5

Medium & Medium Sour

26-35

0.5-1

Medium & Sour

26-35

>1

Heavy & Sweet

10-26

<0.5

Heavy & Medium Sour

10-26

0.5-1

Heavy & Sour

10-26

>1

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4) THE PRIMARY TYPES OF CRUDE OIL The four primary types of oil are: (1) The Very Light Oils / Light Distillates which include: Jet Fuel, Gasoline, Kerosene, Light Virgin Naphtha, Heavy Virgin Naphtha, Petroleum Ether, Petroleum Spirit, and Petroleum Naphtha. These oils tend to be highly volatile and can evaporate within just a couple of days, which quickly diffuses and decreases toxicity levels. (2) Light Oils / Middle Distillates which include: Most Grade 1 and Grade 2 Fuel Oils and Diesel Fuel Oils as well as Most Domestic Fuels and Light Crude Marine Gas Oils. These oils are moderately volatile, less evaporative and moderately toxic. (3) Medium Oils: Most of the crude oil on the market these days falls into this particular category. Low volatility makes for messier & more complex “clean ups” and when it comes to the increased toxicity levels, I believe we have all lived long enough to see what “Medium Oil” spills can do to the local ocean life out on the seas or local wildlife right here on “terra firma!” (4) Heavy Fuel Oils which include the heavy crude oils, Grade 3,4,5 and 6 Fuel Oils (Bunker B & C) as well as Intermediate and Heavy Marine Fuels. With these oils there is very slow and little evaporation and therefore toxicity is highly increased. This not only means potentially severe contamination for fish, fowl and fur-bearing creatures, but possible “long term” contamination of water and soil as well.

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5) GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION (or BENCHMARKS OF CRUDE OILS)  The general concept of benchmarking is to classify crude oil based on its quality.  The introduction of grading has become necessary due to: i) different composition of oil as sulfur content, ii) alkane content and the presence of impurities, iii) it is located.  The geographic location is important because it affects transportation costs to the refinery.  For the convenience of trade market and to keep the balance between supply and demand typical benchmarks were created.  Prices for other crudes are determined by the differentials to benchmarks.  Crude oil benchmarks, also known as oil markers, were first introduced in the mid 1980s.  Benchmark oils are used as references when pricing oils.  Barrels from an area in which the crude oil's molecular characteristics have been determined and the oil has been classified are used as pricing references throughout the world.

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6) TYPES OF BENCHMARKS OF CRUDE OILS The Energy Intelligence Group has identifies 161 different blends in total traded on the market theses days, They are classified by geography There are three different types of benchmarks,namely:  North America's West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) {light (WTI) },  North Sea Brent Crude (Brent), and  OPEC basket used by OPEC (ORB) Other well-known blends include :  Dubai and Oman or {Oman (sour)}.  Tapis Crude (which is traded in Singapore),  Bonny Light (used in Nigeria),  Mexico's Isthmus, and  Maya.

 Note: There are approximately 161 different benchmark oils (or Blends), of which the main three West Texas Intermediate, Brent Crude, and Dubai Crude (Figures 1 and 2). Their pricing is used as a barometer for the entire petroleum industry, although, in total, there are 46 key oil exporting countries (Figure 2). Benchmarks are used because there are many different varieties and grades of crude oil. Using benchmarks makes referencing types of oil easier for sellers and buyers WTI and Brent futures prices are used for exports to the Atlantic Basin. © Hassan Harraz 2016

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Crude Oil quality by types Cheap

Expensive

Figure 1 : Relationship between density and sulfur content of various Crude Oil Benchmarks quality types (OPEC, 2011) © Hassan Harraz 2016

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Sulfur content (in %)

Cheap

Expensive

Sweet

Figure 2: Density and Sulfur contents of selected crude oils

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Crude Oil quality by types

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a) West Texas Intermediate (WTI)  is probably the most famous of the benchmark oils.  is used primarily in the U.S, Western Hemisphere. It comes from the Southwestern United States.  This is the most common type of crude oil, which is trading in oil futures pit at the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYME).  is a very sweet high quality oil : It is a light (~39.6° API gravity) and sweet (low-sulfur ~0.24 %).  WTI is only 8/10 as heavy as water.  is an extremely high quality crude oil which is greatly valued for the fact that it is more and better gasoline can be refined from a single barrel than from most other types of oil available on the market.  It is mostly used to produce gasoline and therefore that type of oil is in high demand, especially in the United States and China (UP Trading, 2012).  Thus making it ideal for producing products like low-sulfur gasoline and low-sulfur diesel.  These combined qualities as well as location make WTI a prime crude oil to be refined in the United States, which is by far, the largest gasoline consuming country on the planet.  Brent is not as light or as sweet as WTI but it is still a high-grade crude.  The OPEC basket is slightly heavier and more sour than Brent.  WTI is often priced from $5 to $7 higher per barrel than “OPEC Basket” oil and <$2 per barrel than “Brent Blend” oils.

© Hassan Harraz 2016

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b) Brent crude Brent Crude comes from the North Sea. The sulfur content is 0.37%. Brent Crude is a major trading classification of sweet light crude oil that serves as a major benchmark price for purchases of oil worldwide.  It is a light, sweet crude with an API gravity of 38.06 and a specific gravity of 0.835, , but clearly not quite as “light” as WTI (i.e. API is making it slightly “heavier” than WTI).  It also contains ~0.37 % sulfur, which makes it a “sweet” crude oil, but then again, not quite as “sweet” than WTI. It is mostly refined in Northwest Europe and is also called Brent Blend, London Brent, and Brent petroleum. Brent Blend is actually a combination of different oils from 15 fields throughout the Scottish Brent and Ninian systems located in the North Sea. The Brent field is located in the East Shetland Basin, halfway between Scotland and Norway Brent Crude is extracted from the North Sea and comprises Brent Blend, Forties Blend, Oseberg and Ekofisk crudes (also known as the BFOE Quotation). This mechanism gives Dated Brent a robust supply of ~1.4 mb/d of production, which provides the price benchmark with a sustainable volume of tradable crude oil for its own protection from undue market influence. Brent Blend is quite excellent for making gasoline and middle distillates A “futures” market – based at the International Petroleum Exchange (IPE) in London The price of Brent Crude is used to set prices for roughly 2/3 of the world’s oil. The oil price of Brent is in the basis for the pricing of ~40% of world oil prices from 1971. Brent Crude is typically priced at ~$2 dollars over the WTI Spot price, which is typically priced $5 to $6 dollars above the EIA's Imported Refiner Acquisition Cost (IRAC) and OPEC Basket prices. © Hassan Harraz 2016

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© Hassan Harraz 2016

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Dated Brent The term "Dated Brent" refers to physical cargoes of crude oil in the North Sea that have been assigned specific delivery dates. Each dated cargo of crude oil is often traded more than once as it makes its way to delivery to refineries -- where crude is transformed into products like gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, and more. Dated Brent is a critical component of the Brent Complex, which includes the trading of physically delivered oil like Dated Brent and cash BFOE (Brent-Forties-Oseberg-Ekofisk), as well as financially settled derivatives like Brent Futures, Contracts for Differences (CfDs), Dated-to-Frontlines (DFLs) and a variety of other derivatives. Price indicators from the Brent Complex are increasingly used as a reference for measuring the value of crude oils all around the world, and often of global economic health itself. Dated Brent is the true, recognized barometer of global sweet crude oil economics.  For this reason it is widely used as a key macro indicator for global economic growth. Dated Brent is increasingly being used to determine the value of sweet crude in the North Sea, West Africa, the Mediterranean, South and Latin America, Canada and North America, Central Asia and in Russia.  More than 60% of the world’s internationally traded crude oil is priced against Dated Brent.

© Hassan Harraz 2016

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© Hassan Harraz 2016

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c) OPEC Reference Basket (ORB) or OPEC Basket (ORB): used by OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) The OPEC Reference Basket (ORB), also referred to as the OPEC Basket is a weighted average of prices for petroleum blends produced by OPEC countries. It is used as an important benchmark for crude oil prices. OPEC Basket is the pricing data formed by collecting seven crude oils from the OPEC nations (except Mexico). An average that is determined by the production and exports of each oil producing country. This reference is typically used as a reference point in monitoring the market conditions of oil throughout the world. This weighted average collects oil prices from a number of oil producing countries. OPEC attempts to keep the price of the OPEC Basket between upper and lower limits, by increasing and decreasing production→ This makes the measure important for market analysts. The OPEC Basket, including a mix of light and heavy crudes, is heavier than both Brent crude oil, and West Texas Intermediate crude oil.

© Hassan Harraz 2016

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Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)     

       

The acronym OPEC stands for “Organization of Petroleum-Exporting Countries” which is an organization that was formed in 1960 in order to create some common policy for the production and sale of oil within its jurisdiction. OPEC is a group of 13 countries that produce 36% of the world’s oil, or 32 million barrels of oil per day. The largest producers in OPEC are four Arab states, namely Saudi Arabia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, and Kuwait, although Venezuela is also a major producer. So, if oil and gas is of such importance to society, it’s important to understand who controls its production. Today, oil production is governed by three major groups who together produce 75% of the global supply. Original Member Countries:  Iran  Iraq  Kuwait  Saudi Arabia  Venezuela Other members Qatar, Indonesia, Socialist Peoples Libya, United Arab Emirates, Algeria, Nigeria, Ecuador, Angola, Gabon Objective statement: OPEC's objective is to co-ordinate and unify petroleum policies among Member Countries, in order to secure fair and stable prices for petroleum producers; an efficient, economic and regular supply of petroleum to consuming nations; and a fair return on capital to those investing in the industry. The Main Producers:  OPEC …. .. currently accounts for 81% of total world oil reserves.  OPEC …….pumps out about 40 % of the world's oil. Total reserves in many OPEC countries hardly changed in the 1990s. Official reserves in Kuwait, for example, were unchanged at 96.5Gbbl (15.34×109 m3) (including its share of the Neutral Zone) from 1991 to 2002, even though the country produced more than 8Gbbl (1.3×109 m3) and did not make any important new discoveries during that period. The case of Saudi Arabia is also striking, with proven reserves estimated at between 260 and 264 billion barrels (4.20×1010 m3) in the past 18 years, a variation of less than 2%,while extracting 60 billion barrels (9.5×109 m3) during this period. In 1985–1986, the UAE almost tripled its reserves from 33Gbbl (5.2×109 m3) to 97Gbbl (15.4×109 m3). In 2001–2002, Iran raised its proven reserves by some 30% to 130Gbbl (21×109m3), which advanced it to second place in reserves and ahead of Iraq.

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The new OPEC Reference Basket (ORB):  OPEC Basket oil is a collective thirteen different crude oils from : 1) Saharan Blend (Algeria) 2) Girassol (Angola) 3) Oriente (Ecuador) 4) Minas (Indonesia) 5) Iran Heavy (Islamic Republic of Iran) 6) Basra Light (Iraq) 7) Kuwait Export (Kuwait) 8) Es Sider (Libya) 9) Bonny Light (Nigeria) 10) Qatar Marine (Qatar) 11) Arab Light (Saudi Arabia) 12) Murban (UAE) 13) BCF 17 (Tia Juana Light ; from Venezuela)  This is not a specific crude, but rather is a weighted average of petroleum that comes from OPEC countries.  It was recently changed to reflect the average quality of crude oil in OPEC Member Countries.  There are currently 11 different oils combined into the ORB.  It averages an API gravity, with the present combination, of 32.7 degrees and has a sulfur content of 1.77%.  The change decreased the API and increased the sulfur content of the basket.  Because OPEC oil has a much higher percentage of sulfur within its natural make-up and therefore is not nearly as “sweet” as WTI or even Brent Blend and  Since it is also not naturally as “light” as well, the prices of OPEC oil are normally consistently lower than either Brent Blend or WTI.  However, OPEC’s willingness or ability to quickly increase production when necessary makes OPEC a consistent “Major Player” in the oil industry! © Hassan Harraz 2016

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d) Dubai and Oman Crude {Oman (sour)}:  Dubai Crude is light and sour, with an API gravity of 31° and a specific gravity of 0.871.  Its sulfur content is 2%, making it 6 times more sour than Brent Crude and 8 times more sour than WTI.  It is extracted from Dubai and surroundings.  It is generally used for pricing oil that comes from the Persian Gulf.  Dubai Crude is also known as Fateh is produced in the Emirate of Dubai, only refinery, at Jebel Ali, takes condensates as feed-stocks, and therefore all of Dubai's crude production is exported.

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e) Bonny Light  produced in the Niger Delta basin and named after the prolific region around the city of Bonny.  comes from Nigeria.  is a light, sweet oil.  has an API gravity of 32.9o (low specific gravity) and a sulfur content of 0.16%  The very low sulfur content (0.16%) of Bonny Light crude makes it a highly desired grade for its low corrosiveness to refinery infrastructure and the lower environmental impact of its by-products in refinery effluent.  The Bonny Light is in high demand specifically by American and European refineries.  Lower Sulfur content than both of WTI and Brent.

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f) Tapis crude :  Tapis crude is a Malaysian crude oil used as a pricing benchmark in Singapore, Asia and Australia.  Tapis is often referred to as the “World’s Costliest Oil” and comes from a single field in Malaysia.  Tapis is very light with an API gravity of 45.2° and very sweet with only ~0.034% sulfur.  Its value comes from the fact that WTI and Brent Crude are difficult and expensive to export to Asia and because it is of extremely high quality.  The price of Tapis in Singapore is often considerably higher than the price of benchmark crude oils such as Brent or WTI (those commonly referenced in market commentaries). This is because it's greater aromaticity (i.e. higher degree of API) allows for greater production of higher-value products (such as gasoline) from Tapis than Brent or WTI.

• The

best

typeeeeeesssssssssss

© Hassan Harraz 2016

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g) Mexico's Isthmus (or Isthmus-34 Light)  is a sour crude with and API gravity of 33.74 degrees and a sulfur content of 1.45%.  is produced in Mexico mainly in the Campeche zone, in the Gulf of Mexico along with the extraction centers in Chiapas, Tabasco, and Veracruz. Though Mexico is not a part of OPEC, this oil was once part of the OPEC Reference Basket. It was removed in from the ORB when it was changed in 2005.

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h) Maya  is a heavy sour crude oil with an API specific gravity between 21 and 22 degrees and a sulfur content of 3.4%, meaning only the most sophisticated refineries are capable of profitably processing it.  is a blend of crude oils from the Cantarell and Ku Maloob Zaap oil fields southeast Mexico.

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