Downstream (petroleum industry) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Downstream (petroleum industry)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The oil and gas industry is usually divided into three major sectors: upstream, midstream and
downstream. The downstream sector commonly refers to the refining of petroleum crude oil and the
processing and purifying of raw natural gas,[1][2][3] as well as the marketing and distribution of products
derived from crude oil and natural gas. The downstream sector touches consumers through products
such as gasoline or petrol, kerosene, jet fuel, diesel oil, heating oil, fuel oils, lubricants, waxes, asphalt,
natural gas, and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) as well as hundreds of petrochemicals.
Midstream operations are often included in the downstream category and considered to be a part of the
downstream sector.

Byproduct sulfur
Crude oil is a mixture of many varieties of hydrocarbons and most usually has many sulfur-containing
compounds. The oil refining process commonly includes hydrodesulfurization which converts most of
that sulfur into gaseous hydrogen sulfide. Raw natural gas also may contain gaseous hydrogen sulfide
and sulfur-containing mercaptans, which are removed in natural gas processing plants before the gas is
distributed to consumers.
The hydrogen sulfide removed in the refining and processing of crude oil and natural gas is subsequently
converted into byproduct elemental sulfur. In fact, the vast majority of the 64,000,000 metric tons of
sulfur produced worldwide in 2005 was byproduct sulfur from refineries and natural gas processing
plants.[4][5]

See also
Coal-bed methane

Natural-gas processing

Extraction of petroleum

Petroleum

Gas field

Petroleum extraction

Hydrocarbon

Oil production plant

exploration
Midstream (petroleum
industry)

Oil refinery
Oil well
Upstream (petroleum industry)

Natural gas
Natural gas condensate

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Downstream (petroleum industry) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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References
1. ^ Petroleum industry (http://www.trencome.com/petroleumindustry.htm)
2. ^ Upstream, midstream & downstream (http://wpccanada.com/yc/industry-info/about-the-industry/upstreammidstream-downstream.html)
3. ^ Industry Overview (http://www.psac.ca/business/industry-overview/) from the website of the Petroleum
Services Association of Canada (PSAC)
4. ^ Sulfur production report (http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/sulfur/sulfumcs06.pdf) by the
United States Geological Survey
5. ^ Discussion of recovered byproduct sulfur (http://www.agiweb.org/geotimes/july03/resources.html)

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