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related
oil topics
Light
Sweet Crude Futures
The benchmark of crude oil
futures contracts on the
New York Mercantile Exchange, light sweet crude is a form of oil that contains
little or no wax and is processed
into high value kerosene, gas, heating oil, jet fuel and diesel fuels.
The appeals of light sweet crude have been earned in real world applications;
the
low viscosity of sweet crude means advantages throughout much of the distribution
process; basically the oil is easier than heavy crude oil to move form the ground
to the pump and purer than other forms of crude.
It is easier to process while
yielding a higher quality product. Often the refiners choice over heavier oils.
Reasons it fetches greater prices than for other forms of crude.
The light sweet crude oil futures contract represents the most liquid form of
crude oil trading. For a physical commodity, it is the largest volume futures
contract.
Places the light sweet crude is found include, in addition to Texas and Louisiana,
substantial deposits in
Alaska - possibly placing the onus of energy concerns on protected wildlife refuge
areas.
Outside
of
the
United
States,
it
comes
from
Canada,
China,
Australia
and
Algeria.
During much of 2010, light sweet crude was the type of oil that was released
in
the
Gulf
of
Mexico
by the
BP oil rig incident. Garnering global attention, and harsh public criticism,
hundreds
of
lawsuits
ensued. It
remains
to
be
seen
whether
any
governmental
reaction and new regulations imposed will result in safer offshore
drilling
standards
for the industry while at the same time protecting the environment.
Get
information on energy
markets with our gas
resource for Natural
Gas Futures Market. In addition to Heating
Oil Futures and Light
Sweet
Crude Markets.
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