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OPEC Basket Crude Oil Prices

OPEC collects price data on a "basket" of crude oils, and uses average prices for these oil streams to develop an OPEC reference price to monitor world oil market conditions. From January 1, 1987 to June 15, 2005, OPEC calculated an arithmetic average of seven crude oil streams, including: Algeria's Saharan Blend, Indonesia Minas, Nigeria Bonny Light, Saudi Arabia Arab Light, Dubai Fateh, Venezuela Tia Juana and Mexico Isthmus (a non-OPEC oil) to estimate the OPEC basket price.

At its 136th meeting to review oil markets on June 15, 2005, OPEC decided to change both the composition of the basket, and the way that it is calculated. Effective June 16, OPEC's reference basket now consists of eleven crude streams representing the main export crudes of all member countries, weighted according to production and exports to the main markets. The crude oil streams in the basket are: Saharan Blend (Algeria), Minas (Indonesia), Iran Heavy (Islamic Republic of Iran), Basra Light (Iraq), Kuwait Export (Kuwait), Es Sider (Libya), Bonny Light (Nigeria), Qatar Marine (Qatar), Arab Light (Saudi Arabia), Murban (UAE) and BCF 17 (Venezuela).

According to OPEC, the API gravity for the new basket is heavier (32.7º compared to 34.6º). In addition, the sulfur content of the new basket is more sour (1.77% compared to 1.44%). On June 15 the new basket would have averaged $50.03 barrel, over $2/B less than the old basket price of $52.26/B.

At its January 30, 2005 meeting, OPEC decided that market changes had rendered the band unrealistic, and decided to temporarily suspend the price band mechanism. 

Sources: DOE Weekly Petroleum Status Report as published in the Oil & Gas Journal Statistics

Additional information is available from Oil & Gas Journal's electronic information source OGJ Online.

  Please see OPEC Basket Price for daily, weekly and yearly data.