Brent Crude is the biggest of the many major classifications of oil consisting of Brent Crude, Brent Sweet Light Crude, Oseberg and Forties. Brent Crude is sourced from the North Sea. The Brent Crude oil marker is also known as Brent Blend, London Brent and Brent petroleum. It is used to price two thirds of the world's internationally traded crude oil supplies.

The other well-known classifications (also called references or benchmarks) are the OPEC Reference Basket, Dubai Crude and West Texas Intermediate (WTI).

The name "Brent" comes from the naming policy of Shell UK Exploration and Production, operating on behalf of Exxon and Shell, which originally named all of its fields after birds (in this case the Brent Goose). It also refers to the formation layers—Broom, Rannoch, Etive, Ness and Tarbert, which are named after geographical features—lochs and glens—of the Scottish Highlands).