By Yogi Schulz
The oil and natural gas industry refines over 100 million barrels of crude oil daily to produce much more than gasoline. Here’s an overview of how pervasive hydrocarbons are in our economy and how essential hydrocarbons are to the many products we depend on in our modern society.
This overview is also a reminder of how:
- Valuable and cost-effective fossil fuels are for powering our economy and providing the raw materials for a vast array of products that improve the quality of life.
- Complicated and expensive the energy transition will be before we can stop burning fossil fuels.
- Our modern society will continue to depend on large volumes of fossil fuels long after we stop burning them for energy.
- Difficult and likely expensive it will be to manufacture some products using materials other than fossil fuel-derived chemicals.
Crude oil-derived products by share of a barrel
The chart below illustrates the large number of fuels and chemicals that refiners routinely extract from crude oil and related natural gas liquids and condensates. The chemicals provide the raw material for the vast array of product categories listed.
Refining separates the many different types of molecules found in crude oil with heat. The process is called fractionation or distillation. It relies on the fact that different molecules have different boiling points.
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Each petroleum product is further described below.
Gasoline
Gasoline is used to power internal combustion engines for:
- Automobiles and light trucks.
- Motorcycles.
- Lawnmowers.
- Stationary motors.
Hydrocarbon gas liquids
Hydrocarbon gas liquids consist of propane and butane that are used for:
- Space heating, barbequing, cooking, drying.
- Chemicals, plastics, and synthetic rubber.
- Propane is sometimes used as an alternative to gasoline to power automobiles.
Residual fuel
Residual fuel oil, also known as heavy fuel oil (HFO) or bunker fuel, is used in:
- Power plants to generate electricity.
- Industrial boilers to heat water for steam for space heating or process heat.
Jet fuel
Jet fuel, also known as kerosene, is used in:
- Aircraft to power turbine engines or piston motors
- Space heating and cooking.
- Lamps and lanterns.
- Solvents.
Other distillates
Other distillates consist of:
- Heating oil for space heating.
- Chemical feedstock for detergents, explosives, fertilizers, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, resins, and synthetic fibres.
- Naphtha which is used as a solvent in hydrocarbon cracking, laundry soaps, and cleaning fluids.
- Benzene which is used for detergents, dyes, foams, plastics, and synthetic rubber.
Ultra-low sulphur distillates
Ultra-low sulphur distillates, also known as diesel, are used in:
- Heavy trucks, automobiles, and railroad locomotives to power internal combustion engines.
- Marine vessel boilers to heat water for steam for propulsion.
Other products
Other products consist mainly of chemical feedstock for the manufacture of a wide variety of products, including:
- Components and housings for consumer electronics.
- Health and beauty products such as contact lenses, makeup, shampoo and soaps.
- Household products such as crayons, food containers, non-stick pans, paint, pillows, and pipes.
- Medical devices and supplies such as bandages, casts, tape, and tubes.
- Sporting goods such as golf balls, helmets, surfboards and sticks.
- Synthetic textiles such as acrylic, polyester, nylon, polyvinyl chloride, and rayon.
Other products also include:
- Asphalt and road oil for roads.
- Lubricants such as motor oil and greases.
- Petroleum coke for steel making.
Crude oil products by refining percentage
The chart below illustrates the percentage of annual crude oil barrels processed by US refineries attributable to each distillation product described above. Similar percentages also apply to most refineries in the world.
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These many distillation products of crude oil vary widely in value and potential application. That reality makes replacing them with other non-fossil fuel materials challenging and costly.
Yogi Schulz has over 40 years of experience in information technology in various industries. He writes for , , and other trade publications. Yogi works extensively in the petroleum industry to select and implement financial, production revenue accounting, land & contracts, and geotechnical systems. He manages projects that arise from changes in business requirements, the need to leverage technology opportunities, and mergers. His specialties include IT strategy, web strategy, and systems project management.
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