Introduction to Petroleum Refining

Introduction to Petroleum Refining

• Petroleum is a complex mixture of hydrocarbons and natural gas (NG)
• Also known as crude oil, it is made up of hydrocarbons containing hydrogen and carbon, and natural gas containing oxygen, nitrogen, and sulfur

History of Petroleum

• 1846: Canadian archeologist Abraham Gesner developed a petroleum distillation process, with kerosine as the main product
• 1850s: Distillation process started to be used widely in the USA, with 8 million barrels of kerosene produced per year
• 1859: Edwin Drake drilled the first oil well for petroleum extraction, marking the beginning of mechanical drilling
• 1860s: Rapid growth of petroleum companies in North America
• 1895: Standard Oil tried to share the petroleum market with the Russian government but was rejected
• 1911: Standard Oil broke up into 34 companies
• 1928: Exxon, Mobil, Chevron, Texaco, Gulf, British Petroleum (BP), and Shell formed an international organization called Seven Sisters

Drilling and Refining

• Onshore drilling involves positioning the hoisting equipment and lowering the bit and drill collar into the well hole
• Offshore drilling allows for exploration of underwater oil reserves
• The petroleum product life cycle involves upstream (exploration and production), midstream (transportation and processing), and downstream (marketing and sales) aspects

Midstream and Downstream

• Midstream business consists of transportation and processing through pipelines and other transport systems
• Downstream business deals with marketing and sales, which reaches consumers through gasoline stations, and involves processing and purifying of raw NG

Characteristics of Crude Oil

• Quality of crude oil is described based on density/specific gravity and sulfur content
• Lighter colors indicate higher quality
• Classification of oil is based on maturation, with higher quality oils having a lighter color

Refining Process

• Distillation is a refining process that separates crude oil into various products
• The transformation of crude oil into various products involves a refining process

Oil Fields and Production

• Malaysia's oil and gas fields are mainly found offshore of Peninsula Malaysia and east coast
• Most of the country's oil fields contain low-sulfur, high-quality crude
• 37 oil fields and 11 gas fields are under development
• The Tapis field is the largest oil producer, producing very light and sweet crude with API gravity of 44° and sulfur content of 0.08% by weight

Refineries in Malaysia

• Malaysia has 6 refineries, with a total processing capacity of 544,832 bbl/d
• The 3 largest refineries are Shell Port Dickson refinery, Petronas Melaka-I, and Melaka-II refineries

Learn about the basics of petroleum, crude oil characteristics, and processes. Understand the history of petroleum and its composition.