The critical link between crude oil and the fuel that consumers use in everyday life is the oil refinery. Crude oil is made up of many types of oil, some of which contain undesirable impurities such as sulfur, nitrogen, and metals. The goal of a refinery is to process the crude oil into quality oil products as efficiently and environmentally safe as possible by removing many of these impurities.

Each refinery is limited by two main factors: the products that the refinery is designed to create and the quality and characteristics of the crude oil used to create these products. Specific equipment is designed for each process, which shapes the crude oil using variations in pressure, temperature and specialized catalysts to create the end product, whether it is motor gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, kerosene or lubricants.

The industry today faces numerous ongoing challenges. The growing demand for gasoline and specially formulated "boutique" fuels (to meet environmental mandates), coupled with the lack of new refinery construction, has increased the price of gasoline to consumers recently. Ongoing enforcement concerns, the Environmental Protection Agency's regulations and mandated product quality issues have increased capital addition and operating costs while reducing flexibility by the refiner. Due to its impact on the public's every day life, the energy industry will remain under a microscope to ensure that the most efficient fuel sources will be processed in an environmentally sensitive way.

 

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