Why is it called "sweet" crude oil

Just wondering while I was brushing through ragingbull lookin at stocks. Why is there a sweet crude oil? It cannot be actually sweet, can it?

Guess you dont have much to sell huh?

Otherwise you’d understand why oil can be a very sweet thing indeed :slight_smile:

Sorry for the smartassedness but I’ve never heard of sweet crude oil. In my time as a chemist for Esso I often dealt with crude samples but never heard a variety referred to as sweet.

An aside is that crude aint the thick black viscous stuff most folk think it is. Its a very clear liquid with a viscosity lower than water.

From http://www.geologyone.com/esa/energy/gasexpl/refine.html

“Sweet” crude oil is particularly easy to refine because of those low quantities of sulphur.

Didnt say I was a very good chemist :slight_smile: