Brent Crude serves as a pivotal global benchmark, setting the price for two-thirds of the world's internationally traded crude oil supplies, particularly those from the Atlantic basin. Initially, it referred to a "sweet light" crude oil first extracted from the North Sea's Brent oilfield starting in 1976. As production from this field declined to zero by 2021, the benchmark evolved into a blend, now including crude from North Sea fields (Forties, Oseberg, Ekofisk, Troll) and, notably since 2023, oil from Midland, Texas. Colloquially, "Brent Crude" most often refers to the price of the ICE Brent Crude Oil futures contract, a central part of the physically and financially traded Brent Complex market based in Northwest Europe. These influential contracts, which represent 1,000 barrels each, have been traded electronically on the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) since 2005, playing a crucial role in global oil pricing, risk management, and commercial transactions.