The price of oil from North Dakota fell below zero

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There is so much cheap oil in the US that producers of low-quality varieties will have to pay extra for taking raw materials from them. This is a North Dakota Sour oil grade.

So, for example, in January 2014 this brand cost 47,60 dollars per barrel, in January 2015 - 13,50.

Now, Flint Hills Resources LLC, a refining company, said it could take North Dakota Sour from mining companies for an extra $ 0,5 per barrel.

A Flint Hills Resources representative did not respond to a Bloomberg request asking for comment on the company's pricing policy.

This price is explained by the absence of pipes for a particular grade of low-grade oil.

Over the past 18 months, oil prices have collapsed by more than 70%.

West Texas crude for February delivery fell to $28,36 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Monday, its lowest intraday trading level since October 2003.

North Dakota Sour is an extremely low grade high sulfur grade, the agency explains. Since 2011, high-sulfur oil has been forbidden to be transported through pipelines and has to be transported by cargo and rail, which significantly increases costs. In addition, oil with high sulfur content generally costs less, because its processing requires special equipment.

This is not the first time that the price of low-quality fuel falls below zero, reminds Bloomberg. For example, last year, for three months, propane gas was sold at a negative price in the Canadian oil and gas production center Edmonton for three months, that is, the sellers paid extra to the buyers.