Archive for June, 2009
A Primer on Gasoline Blending
An EPRINC Briefing Memorandum
Refineries produce a more expensive fuel blend during the summer to cut down on smog during hot months. Stations nationwide will start selling a less-expensive winter fuel usually by mid September, which on average means that winter gasoline is less expensive than summer gasoline.
Gasoline is composed of many different hydrocarbons. Crude oil enters a refinery, and is processed through various units before being blended into gasoline. A refinery may have a fluid catalytic cracker (FCC), an alkylate unit, and a reformer, each of which produces gasoline blending components. Alkylate gasoline, for example, is valuable because it has a very high octane, and can be used to produce high-octane (and higher value) blends. Light straight run gasoline is the least processed stream. It is cheap to produce, but it has a low octane. The person specifying the gasoline blends has to mix all of the components together to meet the product specifications.
There are two very important (although not the only) specifications that need to be met for each gasoline blend. The gasoline needs to have the proper octane, and it needs to have the proper Reid vapor pressure, or RVP. While the octane of a particular grade is constant throughout the year, the RVP spec changes as cooler weather sets in.
The RVP is the vapor pressure of the gasoline blend when the temperature is 100 degrees F. Normal atmospheric pressure varies, but is usually around 14.7 lbs per square inch Read More >>>
EPRINC Announces New Member of the Board: Dan Nelson
EPRINC PRESS RELEASE
Dan Nelson, a former elected officer of the Exxon Mobil Corporation has joined the Board of Trustees of the Energy Policy Research Foundation, Inc. (EPRINC). Mr. Nelson served in numerous positions at Exxon Mobil reflecting the full range of complexity of the petroleum industry. He brings to EPRINC unique experience in supply and trading, LNG development, production and refining, and project management throughout the Middle East. His last position at Exxon Mobil was Vice President for Government Affairs, where he was responsible for the company’s Washington-based government relations activities.
“Dan brings enormous experience and international reach to EPRINC’s programs and we are extremely fortunate that he has agreed to join EPRINC’s Board of Trustees,” said Lucian Pugliaresi, President of EPRINC.
About EPRINC
EPRINC, located in Washington, D.C., researches and publishes reports on all aspects of the petroleum industry which are made available free of charge to all interested organizations and individuals. It also provides analysis for quotation and background information to the media. EPRINC has been called on to testify at every session of Congress in the last decade and its chairman and president have served on virtually every National Petroleum Council study of oil issues.
More information about EPRINC, including access to all the Read More >>>
WSJ: The Crude-Oil Market’s Future Tense
The Wall Street Journal published an article today (on the back page of Money & Investing for those of you with a hard-copy) on how crude oil’s recent price rebound reflects expectations for future supply growth, or lack thereof. It mentions EPRINC’s March 2008 report on above ground “silent disruptions” to the world’s crude oil supply. (Link to EPRINC’s report, republished in the Oil & Gas Journal in July 2008: Silent Disruption Limiting Oil Supply) The article is in a way a brief update of that report, arguing that crude oil’s 2009 rally can be in part attributed to investor expectations of a world in which crude oil supplies will continue to be limited after an economic recovery due to above ground conflict and political limitations, and not necessarily limited crude reserves.
Read the article at wsj.com: The Crude-Oil Market’s Future Tense
