Perhaps the most controversial debate of our age is the amount of oil we have left to pump from the earth. Some speculate as many as hundreds of years while others say we may experience an output shortage as early as 2015. On top of this, many speculate that OPEC purposefully manages the outflow of major oil supplies in order to maintain high prices in the markets. The two major types of crude oil that traders and speculators focus on today are Brent crude and West Texas Intermediate (WTI). The WTI crude is used as a benchmark in oil pricing, is most cited in oil prices, and is a very light crude oil. Brent crude, on the other hand, comes from the North Sea, is not light like WTI crude, and prices two-thirds of internationally traded crude oil.
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Crude Oil Facts
Crude Oil is unprocessed oil that is acquired directly from the ground. It is also a fossil fuel that was made from the remains of decaying plants and aquatic animals in ancient seas. It wasn’t until the invention of the kerosene lamp that the demand for oil emerged. Crude oil futures represent the consummate commodity, as it is the most traded on the markets today. They are also the biggest contracts of a commodity in terms of volume. These crudes are favored because they can produce valuables, such as gas and diesel, due to low sulfur content.
The top producers of crude oil are Russia, Saudi Arabia, and the U.S. Even though the U.S. produces a substantial amount of crude oil, it must depend on imports in order to fulfill its energy demand. All the oil producing countries combined produce almost 75 million barrels of oil a day. Around 650 million barrels of oil have already been produced, but over a trillion barrels in reserves can still be produced as well. Cushing, Oklahoma is the delivery point of crude oil.
Source: Barchart
Last updated September 2015.