OPEC has tied its production management activity to the goal of maintaining the OPEC Basket price which is a simple average price of a "basket" of seven crude oils, including: Algeria's Saharan Blend, Indonesia's Minas, Nigeria's Bonny Light, Saudi Arabia's Arab Light, Dubai's Fateh, Venezuela's Tia Juana Light, and Mexico's Isthmus (a non-OPEC crude oil).
OPEC uses the price of this basket to monitor world oil market conditions. Of the major benchmark crude oils West Texas Intermediate and Brent are lighter and sweeter, and therefore more expensive, than the OPEC basket.