Standardized contracts based on crude oil shall be formulated by futures exchanges.
Example: NYMEX launched the light and low sulfur crude oil futures contract at 1983.
IPE launched Brent crude oil futures contract, one of the three international benchmark crude oils, on June 23rd, 1988.
Singapore Exchange (SGX) officially launched Dubai oil futures contract in the Middle East on June 2nd, 2002.
The oil crisis in the early 1970s brought a huge impact on the world oil market, and the sharp fluctuation of oil prices directly led to the emergence of oil futures. After the birth of oil futures, its trading volume has been growing rapidly, surpassing metal futures, and it is an important part of the international futures market.
Among oil futures contracts, crude oil futures is the most traded variety. At present, there are three kinds of crude oil futures contracts with the largest trading volume and the most extensive influence in the world: WTI (West Texas Intermediate) futures contract of light and low sulfur crude oil in the New York Mercantile Exchange, Brent (Brent in the North Sea) futures contract of London International Petroleum Exchange (IPE) and Dubai futures contract of Singapore International Finance Exchange (NYMEX).
Other refined oil futures products include distillate oil, unleaded gasoline, gas oil, heating oil, fuel oil and light diesel oil.
International crude oil physical transaction mainly adopts the pricing method of benchmark price+/-discount, and futures trading prices such as WTI, Brent and Dubai are often used as benchmark prices. Take CME's WTI futures contract as an example, its specification is 1000 barrels per lot, the quotation unit is USD/barrel, and the minimum price fluctuation unit is 1 cent. The crude oil produced in the Western Hemisphere is mainly priced by WTI, including ANS (Alaska North Slope Crude Oil) in the United States, MAYA (Maya Crude Oil) in Mexico, ORIENTE (Orte Crude Oil) in Ecuador, SANTA BARBARA (Santa Barbara Crude Oil) in Venezuela and ESCALANTE (Klandt Crude Oil) in Argentina. Brent is mainly linked to crude oil produced in Western Europe, the Mediterranean and West Africa, such as Urals in Russia, Salier in Libya and Bonny LT in Nigeria. Dubai is mainly related to crude oil produced in the Middle East. The crude oil trade produced in the Far East is mainly linked to the benchmark oil in MINAS, CINTA, DURI and other regions.