Refining 3-2-1 per Time Magazine

[owg]

Your weekly smile, this week, is provided by Time Magazine, US March 19, 2012 edition. While explaining refining 3-2-1, in his article on page 12 entitled "Stumped at the Pump", Bill Saporito explains as follows: "The 3-2-1 means that out of one barrel of oil you get three barrels of gasoline, perhaps two of diesel and one of a by-product." I love this business.

HAZOP at

http://www.curryhydrocarbons.ca

 

[moltenmetal]

Wow, that's an amazing refinery process- he'd better patent it quick!

The funny thing is, if you start with a barrel of vacuum resid, you actually can generate about 1.2 barrels of lighter goodies after you've fully hydrocracked it...if you forget about all that hydrogen you needed to add to get there!

 

[RefinerLink]

I always get a chuckle out of non-refiners trying to explain the refining business, but I can't say that the Time Magazine piece was too terrible.

It touched on fundamentals of the crack-spread, which all refiners still use to some extent to gauge the overall health of industry margins, and it also briefed us on the WTI-Brent disconnect.

Not an entirely insightful piece to people in the business, but doesn't miss the mark on representing key drivers.

http://www.RefinerLink.com