Crude oil is pumped from the ground in the Middle East (e.g., Saudi Arabian Arab Light),
West Africa (e.g., Nigerian Bonny Light), the Americas, and Asia (Russia), pumped into
ships called tankers, and sailed across the ocean to oil refineries on the Delaware River.
Refining is the complex series of processes that manufactures finished petroleum products
out of crude oil. While refining begins as simple distillation (by heating and separating), refiners
must use more sophisticated additional processes and equipment in order to produce the mix
of products that the market demands. Generally, this latter effort minimizes the production of
heavier, lower value products (for example, residual fuel oil, used to power large ocean-going
ships) in favor of middle distillates (jet fuel, kerosene, home heating oil and diesel fuel) and
lighter, higher value products (liquid petroleum gases (LPG), naphtha, and gasoline).
out of crude oil. While refining begins as simple distillation (by heating and separating), refiners
must use more sophisticated additional processes and equipment in order to produce the mix
of products that the market demands. Generally, this latter effort minimizes the production of
heavier, lower value products (for example, residual fuel oil, used to power large ocean-going
ships) in favor of middle distillates (jet fuel, kerosene, home heating oil and diesel fuel) and
lighter, higher value products (liquid petroleum gases (LPG), naphtha, and gasoline).
