A normally gaseous straight-chain hydrocarbon. It is a colorless paraffinic gas that boils at a temperature of -127.48 degrees Fahrenheit. It is extracted from natural gas and refinery gas streams.
An oxygenate blend stock formed by the catalytic etherfication of isobutylene with ethanol.
A division of the Department of Energy that compiles data on petroleum supply and demand on a weekly and monthly basis. These figures are not as timely as API statistics, but are considered more accurate.
Primary stocks of crude oil and petroleum products held in storage as of 12 midnight on the last day of the month. Primary stocks include crude oil or petroleum products held in storage at (or in) leases, refineries, natural gas processing plants, pipelines, tank farms, and bulk terminals that can store at least 50,000 barrels of petroleum products or that can receive petroleum products by tanker, barge, or pipeline. Crude oil that is in-transit by water from Alaska, or that is stored on Federal leases or in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve is included. Primary stocks exclude stocks of foreign origin that are held in bonded warehouse storage.
The ultimate consumer of petroleum products; most commonly used in connection with large industrial or utility consumers.
A futures trading system that automatically matches buyers and sellers through a computerized system, as opposed to the current open outcry system.
The practice by which a floor broker can trade for both his own account and execute orders for off-the-floor customers. Some contend that dual trading leads to the illegal practice of front-running, where unscrupulous individuals can trade for their account ahead of a large order from another customer.
Term applying to functions or facilities closer to the end user. Refining, marketing and transportation are generally downstream processes in the oil patch while exploration and production are upstream. However, the term also applies to any function or facility below the point of reference: retailing is downstream of terminaling.
The most basic refining operation that heats the crude oil and condenses the cuts in a fractionating column in order to separate the various petroleum products for further processing.
Includes No. 1, No. 2 and No. 4 fuel oils, and No. 1, No. 2 and No. 4 diesel fuels. These are light fuel oils used for home heating, as a diesel engine fuel (including railroad engine fuel and fuel for agricultural machinery), and for electric power generation.
- No. 1 diesel fuel: A light distillate fuel oil that has distillation temperatures of 550 degrees F at the 90-percent point and meets the specifications defined in ASTM Specification D 975. It is used in high speed diesel engines generally operated under frequent speed and load changes, such as those in city buses and similar vehicles.
- No. 1 fuel oil: A light distillate fuel oil that has distillation temperatures of 400 degrees F at the 10-percent recovery point and 550 degrees F at the 90-percent point and meets the specifications defined in ASTM Specification D 396. It is used primarily as fuel for outdoor stoves and portable outdoor heaters.
- No. 2 diesel fuel: A fuel oil that has distillation temperatures of 500 degrees F at the 10-percent recovery point and 640 degrees at the 90-percent recovery point and meets the specifications defined in ASTM Specification D 975. It is used in high speed diesel engines generally operated under uniform speed and load conditions, such as those in railroad locomotives, trucks and automobiles.
- Low-sulfur No. 2 diesel fuel: No. 2 diesel fuel that has a sulfur level less than 500 ppm used primarily in power engines used for off-highway use, typically at construction sites, etc.
- High-sulfur No. 2 diesel fuel: No. 2 diesel fuel that has a sulfur content greater than 500 ppm and used mainly for home heating oil in northeastern U.S. markets.
- No. 2 fuel oil (heating oil): A distillate fuel oil that has distillation temperatures of 400 degrees F at the 10-percent recovery point and 640 degrees F at the 90-percent recovery point and meets the specifications defined in ASTM Specification D 396. It is used in atomizing type burners for domestic heating or for moderate capacity commercial/industrial burner units.
- No. 4 fuel: A distillate fuel oil made by blending distillate fuel oil and residual fuel oil stocks. It conforms with ASTM Specification D 396 and is used extensively in industrial plants and in commercial burner installations that are not equipped with preheating facilities.
- No. 2 ultra-low-sulfur: No. 2 ultra-low sulfur has a sulfur content of less than 15 ppm and must be used to supply at least 80% of the nations on-road diesel fuel sold at the retail level as of October 15, 2006. In addition to clear No. 2 ultra-low sulfur, OPIS also provides pricing for red dye, premium, low emissions and winter grades of ultra-low sulfur diesel fuels. All of the OPIS ultra-low sulfur diesel products are understood to include lubricity.
- No. 2 low-sulfur: Clear low-sulfur (LS No. 2) diesel has a sulfur content up to 500 ppm and can be used for up to 20% of the nations on-road diesel fuel sold at the retail level. In addition to clear No. 2 low-sulfur, OPIS also provides pricing for red dye, premium, winter, low-emissions diesel and lubricity grades of low-sulfur diesel fuels.
- No. 2 high-sulfur: Clear high-sulfur No. 2 diesel is used as an off-road fuel for equipment such as farm machinery or home heating oil.
- No. 1 low-sulfur: Clear low-sulfur fuel is commonly used for blending onroad fuels. Diesel is blended during winter months to create a diesel fuel that will not solidify or gel in colder temperatures.
- No. 1 high-sulfur: Clear high-sulfur is used for various off-road agricultural and industrial purposes. Crop drying ovens is one example.
- Kerosene: Kerosene has a lower freeze point, lower flash point and lower pour point.
- Premium diesel: The higher cetane rating is what makes a regular diesel a premium diesel, along with some type of detergent package that serves to clean the engine as the fuel is burned. Cetane is to diesel what octane is to gasoline. Premium diesel typically has a minimum 45 cetane rating, whereas regular diesel is closer to a 38 to 40 cetane rating.
- Red dye: Diesel fuel is dyed red to denote it is being used for tax-exempt purposes. by a tax-exempt entity (school boards, etc.). There is no difference in red-dyed product specifications. Red-dyed prices typically are 0.25 to 0.35cts higher than clear prices to recoup the charge for the dye and dying process.
- Winter diesel: During the winter months, on-road diesel fuels may be blended with other diesel fuels or chemical additives to produce a Winter diesel that will not begin to solidify or gel due to cold temperatures. OPIS also provides pricing for red dye, premium, and lubricity grades of winter diesel fuels.
- Lubricity: Several states have mandated the use of a lubricity additive in several on-road low-sulfur diesel fuels. OPIS provides separate pricing displays for low-sulfur and low-sulfur with lubricity products. Diesel postings which may include lubricity are low-sulfur, red dye, winter and premium diesel products. Since all ultra-low sulfur products must have a lubricity component, it is not necessary to maintain a separate lubricity product grouping within ultra-low sulfur products.
- Low-emissions diesel: Beginning in October 2005, 110 counties in East/ Central Texas required the use of low-emissions diesel or LED in both onroad vehicles and in non-road agricultural and construction equipment.
- LED diesel must contain less than 10% by volume of aromatic hydrocarbons and must have a cetane number of 48 or greater.
- Biodiesel: Made from renewable resources like soybeans and other natural fats and oils. It works in any diesel engine with few or no modifications. It can be used in pure form (B100) or blended with petroleum diesel at any level. Some states are now mandating the use of biodiesel.