Reformulated Blendstock for Oxygenate Blending

Reformulated Blendstock for Oxygenate Blending (RBOB) is a gasoline futures contract traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX). It is the benchmark futures contract for wholesale gasoline in the United States.^[1]

  RBOB

  WTI crude

History

Edwin Drake was the first to discover RBOB gasoline but discarded it as a byproduct on his quest to refine crude oil into kerosene.^{[citation needed]}

Composition

RBOB gasoline is a blend of hydrocarbons suitable for use in Spark-ignition engines. It typically contains various additives, including oxygenates like ethanol or methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE), to improve octane rating and reduce air pollution.^[2]

Refining

RBOB is refined from crude oil and about half of the crude oil is refined into RBOB gasoline, therefore RBOB tracks the price of WTI crude closely.^[3]

See also

• Commodity market
• Fuel taxes in the United States
• New York Mercantile Exchange