What is refinery configuration?

The combination of process units that the refinery has is its configuration. Typically the configuration is described in terms of the most value-creating process unit at the refinery. For example, a refinery with a coker and a hydrocracker would likely be described as having a coking/hydrocracking configuration.

How do we decide refinery configuration?

Processing configurations Each petroleum refinery is uniquely configured to process a specific raw material into a desired slate of products. In order to determine which configuration is most economical, engineers and planners survey the local market for petroleum products and assess the available raw materials.

How many refineries are in the US?

As of January 2019, there were 135 operating refineries in the US, distributed among 30 states.

Does us refine heavy crude?

The ability to process the heaviest crude oils has vastly expanded the Western Hemisphere’s oil resource and supply potential, as these oils come mainly from Canada and Venezuela. Therefore, many U.S. refiners are configured generally to process heavy crude oil.

Why are refinery configurations important to the market?

Apart from the crude slates, refinery configurations must take into account the type of products that will ultimately be marketed as per the demand supply gap in a particular market segment. The quality specifications of the final products are also increasingly important as environmental requirements have become more stringent.

How many refineries are there in the US?

We have just about 700 refineries configured in our database. Users can currently select all US and Canadian complex refineries (simple upgrader refineries require a special case run from a customer support staff member). For other refineries please contact a representative at Refinery Calc for further assistance.

What makes up the capacity of a refinery?

Data series include fuel, electricity, and steam purchased for consumption at refineries; refinery receipts of crude oil by method of transportation; and current and projected capacities for atmospheric crude oil distillation, downstream charge, production, and storage.

How does a refinery calc work for a refinery?

Refinery calc utilizes public information, refinery operations experience and refinery operations intelligence to formulate configurations for most refineries. There is not a perfect refinery database in the world that keeps up with every daily refinery configuration for each refinery in the world.