Sweet crude oil (nonfiction)

Beatty oil well.

Sweet crude oil is a type of petroleum.

The New York Mercantile Exchange designates petroleum with less than 0.42% sulfur as sweet. Petroleum containing higher levels of sulfur is called sour crude oil. Sweet crude oil contains small amounts of hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide. High-quality, low-sulfur crude oil is commonly used for processing into gasoline and is in high demand, particularly in the industrialized nations.

Light sweet crude oil is the most sought-after version of crude oil as it contains a disproportionately large fraction that is directly processed (fractionation) into gasoline (naphtha), kerosene, and high-quality diesel (gas oil).

The term sweet originates from the fact that a low level of sulfur provides the oil with a mildly sweet taste and pleasant smell. Nineteenth-century prospectors would taste and smell small quantities of oil to determine its quality.

In the News

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  Petroleum sample aspires to become Sweet, sweet crude oil, launches Kickstarter campaign to fund refinery.

Fiction cross-reference

• Sweet, sweet crude oil

Nonfiction cross-reference

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