Brent crude originates from four oilfields in the North Sea (Brent, Forties, Oseberg, and Ekofisk). The oil extracted from these fields is typically light and sweet, making it very easy to refine into other products. Roughly two-thirds of all crude contracts around the world use Brent as a pricing benchmark, which makes it the most widely used indicator of oil on the planet.
WTI is the benchmark for all crude oil that originates in the US and makes its way by pipeline to the hub in Cushing, Oklahoma. Like Brent, most of the oil extracted in the US – especially in Texas and North Dakota – is light and sweet, making it ideal for refinement.
