FAQs

What is ‘crude’ oil, and what’s the difference between ‘sweet’ and ‘sour’ crude?

Crude oil is simply unrefined oil. 

Crude oil is categorized by its sulfur content (sulfur is a major harmful pollutant and the less sulfur the better).  Low-sulfur crude oil is “sweet,” and it contains less than 0.5% sulfur by weight. Intermediate crude oil has between 0.5% and 1% percent, and high content crude, or “sour” crude, has more than 1% percent sulfur by weight.