A port in the Netherlands. The most prevalent transaction point for spot market petroleum
Both sides of a futures contract. When a commission is paid for a futures transaction, it is usually paid on a “round turn” basis where it covers both the purchase and sale.
A combination vehicle consisting of a tractor, a 45 to 48 foot semitrailer and a shorter 28 foot semitrailer.
A spread trade implemented when a speculator thinks refiner margins will narrow. Products contracts are bought against crude contracts sold. See also Crack Spread.
A technical level where the current price of a commodity will have difficulty penetrating on a price trend.
Residue from crude oil after distilling off all but the heaviest components, with a boiling range greater than 1000 degrees Fahrenheit. Road Oil. Any heavy petroleum oil, including residual asphaltic oil used as a dust palliative and surface treatment on roads and highways. It is generally produced in six grades from 0, the most liquid, to 5, the most viscous.
A general classification for the heavier oils, known as No. 5 and No. 6 fuel oils, that remain after the distillate fuel oils and lighter hydrocarbons are distilled away in refinery operations. It conforms to ASTM Specifications D 396 and D 975 and Federal Specification VV-F-815C. No. 5, a residual fuel oil of medium viscosity, is also known as Navy Special and is defined in Military Specification MIL-F-859E, including Amendment 2 (NATO Symbol F-770). It is used in steam-powered vessels in government service and inshore power plants. No. 6 fuel oil includes Bunker C fuel oil and is used for the production of electric power, space heating, vessel bunkering, and various industrial purposes.
A serial number assigned to a batch of biofuel for the purpose of tracking its production, use, and trading as required by the EPA’s renewable fuels standard (RFS). The EPA is authorized to set annual quotas dictating what percentage of the total amount of motor fuels consumed in the U.S. must be represented by biofuel blended into fossil fuels. Companies that refine, import or blend fossil fuels are obligated to meet certain individual RFS quotas based on the volume of fuel they introduce into the market. To ensure compliance, obligated parties are periodically required to demonstrate they have met their RFS quota by submitting a certain amount of RINs to the EPA. Because each of these RINs represent an amount of biofuel that has been blended into fossil fuels, the RINs submitted to the EPA by obligated parties are a quantitative representation of the amount of biofuel that has been blended into the fossil fuels used in America.
Often called “green diesel” or “second generation diesel,” refers to petrodiesel-like fuels derived from biological sources that are chemically not esters and thus distinct from biodiesel. Renewable diesel is chemically the same as petrodiesel, but it is made of recently living biomass. The term ‘renewable diesel’ means fuel derived from biomass (as defined in section 45K(c)(3)) using a thermal depolymerization process which meets- (A) the registration requirements for fuels and fuel additives established by the Environmental Protection Agency under section 211 of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7545), and (B) the requirements of the American Society of Testing and Materials D975 or D396. The IRS’s ruling refers to any biomass process using heat as “thermal depolymerization” and the processed fuel is eligible for the $1-per-gallon blender’s tax credit. Renewable diesel blends follow the same nomenclature as biodiesel. Renewable diesel in its pure form is designated R100 while a blend comprised of 20% renewable diesel and 80% petrodiesel is called R20. Because renewable diesel is chemically the same as petrodiesel, it can be mixed with petrodiesel in any proportion but users may need to add an additive to address lubricity issue associated with compounds with no oxygen.
The volatility or tendency of a petroleum product to evaporate. The lower the number, the more stable the product. RVP is used to measure pressure in terms of pounds per square inch (psi). In terms of gasoline, RVP is used as an ozone control mechanism.