Russian oil grades
The first and most popular grade in the Russian Federation is Urals , which is a kind of benchmark for the Russian oil industry.
Sokol crude oil is exported from the Sakhalin-1 terminal at De-Kastri, which has two tanks with 1.3 million barrels of storage and a specially designed high-point mooring system.
ESPO is a grade supplied via the ESPO pipeline.
Vityaz – produced under the Sakhalin-2 project.
Antennae Depot – HF YAGI antennas, antenna towers
Connect your transceiver to the Internet via Wi-Fi. Use your laptop for voice, telegraph or digital communications anywhere in the world!RigExpert WTI-1 is a revolutionary device for wirelessly connecting your transceiver to your computer.
- Transceiver audio interface The analog audio interface is a connection to the transceiver's audio output (jack for connecting an external speaker or line output) and to the transceiver's audio input (microphone jack or line input). With its help, you can work on the air with digital communications, record and play back sound, and also perform some other tasks (for example, measure the signal level from the air) using a computer. You can use a regular headset connected to a computer for voice work. A virtual sound card driver is provided for digital modes.
- CAT interface for various types of transceivers The CAT (Computer Aided Transceiver) interface is designed to control the frequency, operating mode and other parameters of the transceiver from a computer. All modern transceivers have a CAT interface. When connecting RigExpert TI-8 to a computer, the CAT interface is assigned a separate COM port.
- FSK Output FSK (Frequency Shift Keying) is a popular method of transmitting digital data, typically used in teletypewriter (RTTY) mode. Most transceivers have a built-in FSK modulator for a stable and clean RTTY signal. The FSK output is assigned a separate COM port on the computer.
- Switching to transmit and telegraph keying outputs The transceivers have PTT (Push To Talk) and CW (Continuous Wave) inputs for turning the transmitter on and off and telegraph operation using external devices (PTT pedal, telegraph key or keyer, personal computer). In RigExpert WTI-1, the PTT and CW outputs are connected to the RTS and DTR pins of a separate COM port. In addition, the user can press the PTT button on the screen to initiate transmission.
- RS-485 Port You can connect external devices such as antenna switches to the RS-485 port of the interface. Several devices can be connected in parallel. To support data transmission via RS-485, a separate COM port is created in the system.
- WinKey emulation - work in progress To operate the telegraph, you can use software that works directly via DTR or uses the WinKey protocol. To support WinKey, a separate COM port is created in the system.
Specification
Main functions
- Transceiver audio interface for digital communications, audio recording and playback
- CAT system (Computer Aided Transceiver)
- FSK output
- PTT and CW outputs
- WinKey emulation - work in progress
- RS-485 port for connecting external devices, such as antenna switches
Initial configuration: direct connection to PC
- USB (Universal Serial Bus) connector
- USB 1/2/3 support
- USB Powered
- No USB drivers required
- OS Windows 2000/XP/2003/Vista/7/8 (32- or 64-bit)
Working on a local network
- Wi-Fi network 2.4 GHz, 802.11 b/g/n
- Infrastructure mode; requires a wireless access point or router
- Support for open and encrypted networks
- External power supply required (9…15 V DC, max. 0.5 A)
- OS Windows 2000/XP/2003/Vista/7/8 (32- or 64-bit) on the operator’s computer
- Virtual serial port, virtual sound card and control software included
Remote work via the Internet
- ADSL or other high speed Internet connection
- Static or dynamic IPV4 addresses are supported on the transceiver side
- The router must be configured to forward multiple UDP and TCP ports to WTI-1
- Any fast Internet connection on the operator's side
Connection to transceiver
- One 25-pin transceiver cable connector
- Supports various transceiver models
Audio interface
- Isolated from digital circuits
- Maximum input/output amplitude - 1 V
- Input/output sampling rate: 8 - 48 kHz
- 16-bit DAC/ADC
Serial CAT port
- Speed: 300-115200 baud
- Electrical Compatibility: RS-232, CI-V, TTL or Inverse TTL (Yaesu, Icom, Kenwood, Ten-Tec, Elecraft and JRC transceivers)
PTT/CW outputs
- PTT output: open collector and TTL levels
- CW output: open collector
- Maximum permissible current - 500 mA
FSK output
- Speed: 45-1200 baud
- Open collector output
RS-485 port
- Speed: 300-115200 baud
- 3.5mm 3-pin audio jack
Dimensions: 120 x 80 x 30 mm Weight: 0.3 kg
Examples of using
Working on a local network
RigExpert WTI-1 gives you freedom of movement: now you do not need to constantly stay in the shack. You can work anywhere in your house or apartment where there is access to the network. WTI-1, connected to the transceiver, connects to your Wi-Fi router or access point.
All you need is a laptop or desktop computer with ShackLink software and a regular computer headset for voice work. You can use your favorite programs to operate CW and digital modes, as well as to control the transceiver.
Work via the Internet
You can work from anywhere in the world where there is Internet access, such as a hotel room. All you need is a high-speed (ADSL or faster) Internet connection. Important: an external IP address (static or dynamic) is required at the location where the WTI-1 interface is installed.
WTI
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) is a special grade that ranks alongside Brent and Dubai Crude. WTI is known as light oil because it contains 0.24% sulfur and has a low density. It is the underlying commodity of the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) futures contract and is considered a high-quality oil that is easy to refine.
- West Texas Intermediate (WTI) is one of the world's major oil benchmarks.
- Sourced primarily from Texas, it is one of the highest quality varieties in the world.
- WTI is the underlying commodity for the NYMEX oil futures contract.
- WTI is often compared to Brent crude, which is the benchmark oil for two-thirds of the world's oil contracts.
Brent – the wealth of the North Sea
Brent oil is perhaps the most traded of all types of black gold in the world. It is produced by mixing three types of oil extracted from the underwater shelf of the North Sea in territories controlled by Great Britain and Norway.
When they talk about world prices for black gold, by default they mean the cost of Brent oil.
The main exporters of this type of raw material are Great Britain and Norway, and European countries and some Asian countries import it. Currently, the specific share of this brand of oil in world production is about one percent.
Brent
Brent Crude Oil is the leading crude oil trading benchmark, used to determine the price of two-thirds of global purchases. In recent years, Brent has been traded on the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE).
The product itself is a light crude oil due to its comparatively low density and low sulfur content. Brent takes its name from the Brent field in the North Sea.
Price dynamics are similar to WTI.
Urals
Urals is the benchmark oil grade used as the basis for evaluating Russian export crude oil blends. This is a mixture of heavy acid oil from the Urals and Volga region with light oil from Western Siberia.
Urals oil is supplied via the Baku-Novorossiysk pipeline system and the Druzhba pipeline.
The transparent price discovery process is based on an exchange-traded futures contract that reflects the balance of supply and demand. This equilibrium is the result of a large number of transactions entered into on the exchange by a wide range of market participants, thereby establishing a market value for the commodity in question.
In this area, SPIMEX cooperates with the Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation, the Federal Antimonopoly Service of Russia, the Bank of Russia and key Russian hydrocarbon producers.
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What are the differences between oil grades and which is the highest quality?
The market value of an individual flow of “black gold” reflects its quality characteristics. The two most important quality characteristics are density and sulfur content. Density varies from light to heavy, sulfur - low sulfur, high sulfur. The hydrocarbons presented in the table are a selection of some of the crude oils sold in various parts of the world. There are some crude oils both below and above the API gravity range shown in the chart provided by EIA.
How is the price of oil determined?
According to the laws of economics, the price of “eld’s blood” is the result of the interaction of supply and demand. In addition, there is an economic environment that could lead to long-term changes.
Demand
How much oil is needed also depends on global economic development. At the moment, the market is mainly driven by development in Asia. For example, demand in China and India has risen sharply over the past two decades because their economies are growing faster than Europe.
But oil prices could fall despite a growing economy because “the price is also determined on the demand side by other factors such as taxation, weather and environmental regulations.
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Brent vs. baskets of WTI and crack spreads (oil-petroleum products spread): buyer risk assessment
The Brent-WTI spread is currently trading at its lowest levels since November 2010, reflecting the highly volatile nature of crack spreads. After some $20 starting point between Brent and WTI in February this year, WTI led the way, settling at a spread ratio of $0.66 as of July 18th. What is driving all these truly tectonic changes? To begin with, as many experts note, US inventories fell to 27 billion barrels as refineries increased their activity. According to the EIA, refining is now experiencing its fastest rate of production growth since the summer of 2005. In addition, the WTI curve is on a steep backwardation trajectory, as clearly evidenced by October-September spreads that have widened to $1.52/bbl. after moving in a tight $0.14 range earlier in June. Comparing the narrowing spread with the best performance, WTI has traded at an average premium to Brent of $3.20/bbl over the past decade, while Brent's year-to-date average spread has been $15.99/bbl. If you look from the production side, the oil-petroleum products spread has been on a roller coaster since the beginning of the year. As an example, let’s compare the gasoil-Brent spread: at the beginning of May – $9.20/barrel, currently – $21.53/barrel. At the same time, the spread in the ULSD (low sulfur diesel)-Brent pair was twelve times higher than its monthly indicators and was trading at $21.53/bbl. (although in March it was $11.65/barrel). On the other hand, the gasoil-WTI spread is trading at its monthly lows: $16.62/bbl. (in October it was $46.40/barrel). The same is true for the ULSD-WTI pair – $22.19/barrel. (over 12 months – $45.30/barrel). It is obvious that changes in oil and crack spreads are reflected by the hedging nature of the behavior of producers, refiners and consumers. The graphs above show the dependence on spreads and what, how and where is produced/processed/consumed.
Moreover, the so-called hedging is speculation disguised as hedging. Let's remember that not even a few months have passed since many market participants declared the end of the era of WTI as a benchmark in the oil market.
Now let's look at a specific example. The airline needs to hedge its Brent fuel price risk when its actual costs are more correlated with the WTI price. Since the beginning of the year, an analysis has been carried out showing that at a spread of $20 there are losses on “possible losses” due to hedging on Brent. Based on financial statements. The management concludes that several other airlines are faced with exactly the same situation. While. While they apparently did not experience direct losses, they certainly suffered indirect losses from the growth of Brent and WTI. To sum it up, it is worth mentioning that it is worth hedging with assets that have a high correlation with the company’s actual costs.
Now let's go back to the crash of September 2008. How did the Brent-WTI spread perform between September 19 and September 22? The spread for WTI was $16.37/bbl, while for Brent it was only $6.43/bbl, so traders literally plowed WTI futures. being confident in the government's rescue operations in relation to the financial system.
