
What Refineries Do With Oil and Gas
September 11, 2013In 2011 the US consumed about 6.87 billion barrels (288.5 million gallons) of oil, which comes out to about 18.83 million barrels (790.83 million gallons) a day. For 2010 the US consumed about 7 billion barrels - or about 19.18 million barrels a day - of refined petroleum products. Roughly 22% of global oil consumption and the vast majority of it, at one point or another, cycled through one of the nation’s 148 refineries. With the sheer magnitude of those numbers in mind, it is natural to wonder why the refineries use so much oil and gas and what exactly they do with it. This article will help shed some light on that question.
Categories of Petroleum Distillates
The fundamental piece to understand about crude oil and natural gas is that they are raw and ready to use when drawn from the ground. Instead, they must undergo a thorough and intensive refining process, hence the reason that refineries exist in the first place. The US not only has one of the highest concentrations of refineries in the world, it also has some of the most advanced, state-of-the-art refineries, capable of transforming useful products out of what would otherwise be useless crude oil and natural gas. The types of products yielded by refineries will often vary depending on the type of oil and gas that is being refined as well as the capabilities and capacities of the particular refinery where it is being processed. However, for the most part the substances yielded, referred to as petroleum distillates, can be classified into four broad categories. Those categories are: Light Distillates- Gasoline
- Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG)
- Jet Fuel
- Kerosene
- Automotive Diesel
- Railroad Diesel
- Residential Heating Fuel
- Heavy Fuel Oils
- Bunker Fuel Oil
- Other Residual fuel Oils
- Petroleum Coke
- Asphalt and Tar
- Speciality Petroleum Naphthas
- Specialty Solvents
- Elemental Sulfur
- Lubricating Oils
- Petrochemical Feed-Stocks
- Carbon Black
- Transformer and Cable Oils
- Waxes and Greases