The 2025 annual OPEC oil price stood at 78.1 U.S. dollars per barrel, as of February. This would be lower than the 2024 average, which amounted to 79.86 U.S. dollars. The abbreviation OPEC stands for Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and includes Algeria, Angola, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, and the United Arab Emirates. The aim of the OPEC is to coordinate the oil policies of its member states. It was founded in 1960 in Baghdad, Iraq. The OPEC Reference Basket The OPEC crude oil price is defined by the price of the so-called OPEC (Reference) basket. This basket is an average of prices of the various petroleum blends that are produced by the OPEC members. Some of these oil blends are, for example: Saharan Blend from Algeria, Basra Light from Iraq, Arab Light from Saudi Arabia, BCF 17 from Venezuela, et cetera. By increasing and decreasing its oil production, OPEC tries to keep the price between a given maxima and minima. Benchmark crude oil The OPEC basket is one of the most important benchmarks for crude oil prices worldwide. Other significant benchmarks are UK Brent, West Texas Intermediate (WTI), and Dubai Crude (Fateh). Because there are many types and grades of oil, such benchmarks are indispensable for referencing them on the global oil market. The 2024 fall in prices was the result of weakened demand outlooks, primarily from China.

On March 24, 2025, the Brent crude oil price stood at 73.05 U.S. dollars per barrel, compared to 69.11 U.S. dollars for WTI oil and 75.11 U.S. dollars for the OPEC basket. These were slight increases compared to the previous weeks, which had seen some of the lowest prices in four years.Europe's Brent crude oil, the U.S. WTI crude oil, and OPEC's basket are three of the most important benchmarks used by traders as reference for oil and gasoline prices. Lowest ever oil prices during coronavirus pandemic In 2020, the coronavirus pandemic resulted in crude oil prices hitting a major slump as oil demand drastically declined following lockdowns and travel restrictions. Initial outlooks and uncertainty surrounding the course of the pandemic brought about a disagreement between two of the largest oil producers, Russia and Saudi Arabia, in early March. Bilateral talks between global oil producers ended in agreement on April 13th, with promises to cut petroleum output and hopes rising that these might help stabilize the oil price in the coming weeks. However, with storage facilities and oil tankers quickly filling up, fears grew over where to store excess oil, leading to benchmark prices seeing record negative prices between April 20 and April 22, 2020. How crude oil prices are determined As with most commodities, crude oil prices are impacted by supply and demand, as well as inventories and market sentiment. However, as oil is most often traded in future contracts (whereby a contract is agreed upon, while the product delivery will follow in the next two to three months), market speculation is one of the principal determinants for oil prices. Traders make conclusions on how production output and consumer demand will likely develop over the coming months, leaving room for uncertainty. Spot prices differ from futures in so far as they reflect the current market price of a commodity.

As of February 2025, the average annual price of Brent crude oil stood at 77.36 U.S. dollars per barrel. This is some three U.S. dollars lower than the 2024 average. Brent is the world's leading price benchmark for Atlantic basin crude oils. Crude oil is one of the most closely observed commodity prices as it influences costs across all stages of the production process and consequently alters the price of consumer goods as well. What determines crude oil benchmarks? In the past decade, crude oil prices have been especially volatile. Their inherent inelasticity regarding short-term changes in demand and supply means that oil prices are erratic by nature. However, since the 2009 financial crisis, many commercial developments have greatly contributed to price volatility; such as economic growth by BRIC countries like China and India, and the advent of hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling in the U.S. The outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war are examples of geopolitical events dictating prices. Light crude oils - Brent and WTI Brent Crude is considered a classification of sweet light crude oil and acts as a benchmark price for oil around the world. It is considered a sweet light crude oil due to its low sulfur content and a low density and may be easily refined into gasoline. This oil originates in the North Sea and comprises several different oil blends, including Brent Blend and Ekofisk crude. Often, this crude oil is refined in Northwest Europe. Another sweet light oil often referenced alongside UK Brent is West Texas Intermediate (WTI). WTI oil prices amounted to 76.55 U.S. dollars per barrel in 2024.

Russia Average World Price: Crude Oil: Urals: per 1 Barrel data was reported at 91.200 USD/Barrel in Mar 2019. This records an increase from the previous number of 80.700 USD/Barrel for Feb 2019. Russia Average World Price: Crude Oil: Urals: per 1 Barrel data is updated monthly, averaging 58.745 USD/Barrel from Jun 2000 (Median) to Mar 2019, with 226 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 129.710 USD/Barrel in Jul 2008 and a record low of 18.200 USD/Barrel in Nov 2001. Russia Average World Price: Crude Oil: Urals: per 1 Barrel data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Russian Federation – Table RU.PC002: Average World Prices, Crude Oil Export Price, Crude Oil Export Duty.

The average price of Indian basket crude oil was estimated to reach 97.67 U.S. dollars per barrel in the financial year 2023. While Indian basket crude oil prices have fluctuated during the reported period, this figure significantly increased from the previous year’s average of 78.19 U.S. dollars. The average price of crude oil went up marginally around the financial year 2012, touching almost 112 U.S. dollars per barrel.

Recent trends in the Indian oil industry

The last several years have seen a slight but steady increase in Indian crude oil refinery capacity. However, the annual domestic crude oil production volume has consistently decreased. Not surprisingly, the volume of crude oil imports had recently been on the rise for several years.

The future of the Indian energy sector

As the third-largest primary energy consumer globally, India relies on various sources to meet its energy demands. At the same time, a significant increase in primary energy consumption across various sources is projected for the coming decades, with renewables playing a vital role in the Indian energy transition.

Brent crude oil is projected to have an average annual spot price of 74.5 U.S. dollars per barrel in 2025, according to a forecast from February 2025. This would mean a decrease of six U.S. dollars compared to the previous year, and also reflects a reduced forecast WTI crude oil price. All about Brent Also known as Brent Blend, London Brent, and Brent petroleum, Brent Crude is a crude oil benchmark named after the exploration site in the North Sea's Brent oilfield. It is a sweet light crude oil but slightly heavier than West Texas Intermediate. In this context, sweet refers to a low sulfur content and light refers to a relatively low density when compared to other crude oil benchmarks. Price development in the 2020s Oil prices are volatile, impacted by consumer demand and discoveries of new oilfields, new extraction methods such as fracking, and production caps routinely placed by OPEC on its member states. The price for Brent crude oil stood at an average of just 42 U.S. dollars in 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic resulted in a sudden demand drop. Two years later, sanctions on Russian energy imports, had pushed up prices to a new decade-high, above 100 U.S. dollars per barrel.

In 2023, Dubai Fateh had an average price of 82.09 U.S. dollars per barrel, down from the 96.38 U.S. dollars per barrel compared to the previous year. Dubai Crude (Fateh) oil price Dubai Crude (Fateh) is the most important crude oil benchmark for Asia. Dubai Crude originated in Dubai in the Persian Gulf. Another name for this crude oil is Fateh. The name Fateh comes from an offshore oil field, located some 60 miles from Dubai, and is, therefore, part of the United Arab Emirates. One of the advantages of Dubai Crude compared to other Persian Gulf crude oils, and a main reason why it is used as an oil marker, is its instant availability. Dubai Crude, behind West Texas Intermediate (WTI) and UK Brent, is one of the lighter crude oils. On the other hand, Dubai Crude contains some two percent of sulphur, and thus is part of the so-called sour crude oils. In comparison, UK Brent contains 0.37 percent of sulphur, which means it is a so-called sweet crude oil. The refining of sour and heavier oils is always more expensive than it is for sweeter and lighter oils. Dubai Crude, the same as OPEC oils, is mostly refined and traded in the Asian region. The other two crucial oil benchmarks are West Texas Intermediate (WTI), which is especially important for North America, and UK Brent (Brent Crude), which dominates the European oil market. Such benchmarks are essential for referencing the many types and grades of oil on the worldwide market.With the exception of the years 2009 and 2010, there was a stable increase in the price for one barrel of Dubai-Fateh crude oil in the last ten years, until 2015, when the price dropped by half. The mean price per barrel stood at approximately 24 U.S. dollars in 2002. By 2012, this price had increased to more than 109 U.S. dollars, but dropped to 51.20 U.S. dollars per barrel 2015.