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 amount of these fractions that are used to process 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.
Famous quotes containing the words sweet, crude and/or oil:
“Adversity’s sweet milk, philosophy,
To comfort thee, though thou art banishèd.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“Variability is one of the virtues of a woman. It avoids the crude requirement of polygamy. So long as you have one good wife you are sure to have a spiritual harem.”
—Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874–1936)
“I became increasingly anarchistic. I began to find people of my own class vicious, people in clean collars uninteresting. I even accepted smells, personal as well as official. Everyone who came to the studio smelled either of machine oil or herring.”
—Margaret Anderson (1886–1973)