Category Archives: Crude Oil

Two Oilfield Workers Inspecting Oil Refinery

What Are the 3 Steps of Oil Refining?

As much as we’d love for the oil and gas (O&G) industry to be as simple as extracting oil from the ground and sending it directly to consumers, that dream will never happen.

The truth is, there are several processes that crude oil needs to go through before it can reach the hands of consumers.

Let’s take a closer look at why crude oil needs to be refined and the exact refining process that our products have to go through before being used in a home or automobile.  

Why Does Oil Have to Be Refined?

Taken directly from the source, crude oil can only really be used for burning fuel. This practice alone is a waste of a valuable resource. 

So, refineries around the world essentially take a complex resource made from thousands of hydrocarbons and break it down into a usable resource through a 3 step refining process.

What Are the Steps in the Refining Process?

The refining process helps create petroleum products like gasoline, plastics, fibers, and materials for wind turbine blades. Obviously, the process is one that is integral to the O&G industry. So, let’s dive into what each step means 

Separation

Separation is the process of heating up crude oil to the point that essential hydrocarbons boil off and are able to be distilled for use in future petroleum products.

Distillation units separate molecules based on their unique weights. Essentially as the unit receives the boiling crude oil, it separates it into fractions that are organized in the unit based on their boiling points. This leaves the heaviest fractions (residual fuel oil) resting at the bottom of a unit, the lightest fractions (butane) resting at the top.

Some of the most common products that directly result from separation include:

  • Butane
  • Kerosene
  • Heavy Gas Oil
  • Diesel Oil

Conversion

Conversion further refines the fractions created during the separation process. After all, even after being separated, there are still heavy molecules in the fractions that don’t allow the product to meet industry standards.

Conversion takes the fractions and uses heat, pressure, and catalysts to further “crack” the heavier molecules into lighter components that will soon become the products that consumers use on a daily basis.

Treating

Conversion still leaves molecules in petroleum products like sulfur that can result in air pollution if not treated. This part of the process further refines oils by combining different streams and removing substantial amounts of sulfur and other impurities. 

Once this process is complete, the oil is considered treated. It is then stored in NGL containers where it remains safe until it is eventually moved downstream via the consumer pipelines.

How can Pro-Gas Help Your Facility Accomplish Efficient Refining?

Pro-Gas, LLC is one of the nation’s largest providers of quality O&G facility equipment. Whether you need NGL storage to move around crude/refined oils or need gas conditioners on site to help give the refining process a head start, our products help your facility meet its goals.

Contact us today to learn more about our available products in your area and how we can help your O&G team create pure, clean petroleum products for consumer use.

Crude Oil Graphic

Does Crude Oil Go Bad?

Nothing lasts forever, right? Well, when one considers the thousands of years that crude oil has rested beneath the Earth’s surface, it seems possible that oil and gas could theoretically never go bad.

So, do crude oil and gasoline go bad? Let’s take a closer look at these questions and shed some light on one of the biggest myths about oil & gas that circle around some of our most valuable materials.

There Is No “Use By” Date, But…

Although you can’t lift an oil drum lid and sniff out bad oil like you would a gallon of milk, under the right conditions and improper exposure crude oil can, in fact, go bad. 

Oil doesn’t contain materials that routinely expire as other products do. However, mishandling crude oil can degrade the quality of the product and result in wasted, valuable resources.

Oil Drum Storage Matters

While oil drums are meant to store and protect oil from outside elements that could degrade it, misuse and misplacement of oil drums can eventually lead to wasted oil.

For example, storing oil drums outside in Texas is one of the worst possible situations for a product. Texas heat, combined with large amounts of water build-up from unexpected and strong thunderstorms can lead to water seeping into an oil drum, clouding up and degrading the material.

Other Ways Oil Can Degrade

Although water is one of the most common reasons behind oil degradation, other avoidable factors can also lead to a completely wasted product.

Oxidation

If your crude oil is exposed to oxygen, over time, oxygen will make its way into your oil and create the oxidation process. When this happens, the literal qualities of your oil transform and turn the product into a high viscosity sludge that shouldn’t be used under any circumstances.

Evaporation

As sturdy as crude oil seems, evaporation is a very real occurrence that can happen if oil is left exposed outdoors. In fact, when light oil spills happen, evaporation is part of the cleanup process. 

Unfortunately, once evaporated, you can’t get the oil back. So, make sure that when your facility stores oil it isn’t stored in a way that leads to naturally wasted oil.

How Can You Keep Crude Oil Protected?

If your facility needs to store oil for a long period of time, temperature control and dryness are essential. Indoor storage is the most ideal location for oil drums because not only do your drums get the temperature control they need, but they are easy to keep clean, dry, and accessible when you need them.

Some other tips for storing and protecting oil drums include the following practices:

  • Horizontal storage for moisture prevention
  • Storing drums away from heating appliances
  • Storage in an area with level flooring

Keep Your Oil and Gas Stored Securely With Pro-Gas, LLC

If you are a manager of an O&G production facility and want to guarantee that your location’s personal oil storage is secure, let the team at Pro-Gas, LLC help.

We offer skidded NGL storage solutions that make storing and moving your oils around your site a simple and safe task. Contact us today to learn more about our services and to explore our product availability in your area!