Big West of California, LLC Bakersfield Refinery REFINING 101

July 2008

OutlineWhere Does The Crude Oil Come From?Crude Oil BasicsRefining ConceptsFlowcharts of Petroleum RefineriesBasic Refinery Operations and OptimizationConversionRefinery Overview

Where does the Crude Oil Come From?Kern County produces about 550,000 barrels of crude oil per day, 68% of the states total production; enough to fuel about 5 million automobiles.Three of the six largest oil fields in the U.S. are located in Kern CountyKern County represents approximately 10% of the Nations total oil production.Source: Greater Bakersfield Chamber of Commerce

What is Crude Oil?Crude oil is a mixture of hydrocarbons formed from organic matter.Crude varies significantly in color and compositionComposition variesSulfur contentDensity variesContains sediment and water

Crude Oil CharacteristicsCrude density is commonly measured by API gravityAPI gravity provides a relative measure of crude oil density. The higher the API number, the lighter the crudeSulfur content measures if a crude is sweet (low sulfur) or sour (high sulfur)Typically less than 0.5% sulfur content = sweetTypically greater than 1.5% sulfur content = sourHigh sulfur crudes require additional processing to meet regulatory specs

Crude Types Versus Demand

Supply and DemandCalifornia

CA now consumes 44 to 45 million gallons of gasoline and 10 million gallons of diesel fuel per day.Demand for transportation fuels increased nearly 50% in last 20 yearsNumber of refineries producing gasoline in California dropped from 32 in mid-1980s to 14 todayCalifornia now imports 3.5 million gallons of gasoline per day.

Source: California Energy Commission

Basic Refining ConceptsCrude Separation

Basic Refining Concepts

Basic Flowchart of Petroleum Refinery (1915)

Simplified Flowchart of a Complex Refinery

Basic Refinery OperationsSeparation DistillationConversion Changing the size or shape of moleculesRe-shape molecules to improve product quality Catalytic Reforming Unit Upgrading breaking large molecules into smallerCokingHydrocrakingTreatment / Blending Making on specification productsRemoval of impurities desalting, desulfurization, denitroficationMixtures of components to meet specifications

Refinery OptimizationTwo areas can not be compromisedSafetyReliabilityEcomonic optimization is a series of trade-offsFeedstocksAvailability (crude, Intermediate products), Yields, CostRefinery Complexity, Flexibility + ConstraintsCrude rateMaximize to spread fixed costsProductsMeet market demandsValue added and marginsOperationsMaximize yields, minimize giveaway / inventoriesOptimize energy use

Conversion

REFINERY OVERVIEW

Utilities

For More Information

www.bigwestca.comwww.energy.govwww.energy.ca.govwww.pipeline101.comwww.wspa.org

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