Libyan exports were largely-composed of light sweet crude, which is what U.S. produces.
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The U.S. will release 30 million barrels of light sweet crude from its Strategic Petroleum Reserve over next 30 days.
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Light sweet crude is depleting quickly, and now the industry is going after heavy crude and tar sands and thermally enhanced oil.
Its current 50% discount off light, sweet crude was, until recently, unheard of.
Currently the SPR is the fullest it has ever been, with 727 million barrels of mostly light, sweet crude in storage.
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Bakken crude is a sweet, light crude that typically has a gravity of 40 to 42 degrees, ideal for most U.S. refineries.
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As a result prices for sweet light crude tends to be higher than heavier or sour crudes.
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World production of sweet light crude oils occurred a few years ago.
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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.
Sweet light crude oil yields the most gallons of gasoline per barrel of oil and since it has low viscosity and low density, it is comparatively inexpensive to pump, transport, and refine.
So more profits are generated per barrel of sweet, light than heavier or sour crude oils.
North Sea Brent and WTI, the two benchmark crude oils are both sweet, light.
World crude oil production has in some cases already peaked (sweet, light) while others (heavy, sour) it has yet to be will soon.
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