North Sea Brent and WTI, the two benchmark crude oils are both sweet, light.
The price spread between Brent crude oil, the European benchmark and West Texas Intermediate crude oil, the U.S. benchmark, widened sharply because of the loss of Libyan crude oil production.
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"We need a better global benchmark for crude oil than the Brent marker, " said Torbjorn Kjus, oil market analyst at DnB NOR.
But US oil prices are subdued, having lost their long-time link with the Brent crude benchmark.
The U.S. crude benchmark has been criticized as being disconnected from the global market, and has lost market share as a result.
Some say criticism of the Brent benchmark is unwarranted, particularly as the third benchmark, Dubai crude, is more opaque, with declining production and only a small trading volume compared to Brent or WTI.
Indeed, Brent has gained in dominance in recent years as investors have moved away from West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. crude oil benchmark.
Dominated by the benchmark price of Brent crude, the black stuff that flowed from what was once the North Sea's biggest-producing field, the work of these PRAs has been looked at in some technical detail by the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO).
Energy shares took an especially heavy hit in Asia after benchmark U.S. crude-oil futures plunged 2.6% in New York trading Thursday.
Brent crude, the oil benchmark, has gained nearly 12% since the end of June, while natural gas has dropped 1.3% and coal has dropped more than 10%.
West Texas Intermediate crude, the U.S. benchmark fuel, remained largely flat between January 20 and Friday, when the most recent survey was conducted.
The oil, from producers in western Canada, is gooey, acidic and high in sulfur--harder to refine than benchmark West Texas Intermediate (light, sweet) crude.
Brent crude's position as the accepted benchmark for pricing most of the world's oil is coming under fire, as experts in the oil market say the blend doesn't reflect true global supply and demand.
Bakken crude even trades at a discount to West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the benchmark oil for the US set by prices in Cushing, Oklahoma.
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