Crude Oil Benchmarks
Regional benchmarks, like West Texas Intermediate (WTI) in the US, have been created to track crude oil prices. Oil quality, economics, and geopolitics largely underpin benchmark crude prices. Oil and gas industry climate damages, however, are not factored into prices. These co-mingled oils’ wide-ranging climate footprints can vary by a factor of two to five. A climate-wise market should reflect the true costs of oil production and consumption by incorporating emissions intensities of varying oils in benchmark pricing.
Benchmark Crude Prices versus Production Emissions Intensity
Interpreting the data
The chart above plots market price of each benchmark against the varying emissions intensities of the main oil sources of each benchmark. Given the wide range of production climate intensities, it is clear that oil and gas industry climate damages are not factored into market prices. This tool allows users to compare emissions on various dimensions for some of the world's key crude oil benchmarks.