Petroleum and Petroleum Products and Refining Crude Oil
Oil has been powering the industrial economy since the middle of the 1800's, and it remains the overwhelming fuel of choice today. There have been other sources of energy that have been touted as alternatives to oil, and yet oil continues to dominate. It's easy to store, it's fungible, it’s easy to transport, and it's versatile in that a variety of different types of fuels can be made from it. Platts not only assesses the price of dozens and dozens of grades of oil worldwide, but also reports on news and the supply and demand aspects of the commodity in North America, Europe and Asia. Platts' assessments in Brent, Dubai, Oman, West Texas Intermediate and Mars are recognized to be global benchmarks--against which other grades are compared—and are referenced by industry and exchanges worldwide.
Until recently, the supply of crude oil was often in excess of its demand, but as the new century moves ahead, there are predictions and forecasts that this gap has all but disappeared, and the world may be embarking on a new era of demand consistently outpacing supply, or "peak oil." Energy sustainability and climate change have become standard to the supply debate. The petroleum industry is typically divided into three major components: Upstream, mid- and downstream. Downstream operations include refining, distributing, shipping and marketing. Upstream includes such operations as exploration and drilling and production of the raw commodity of crude oil or natural gas. Midstream activities are often lumped with downstream.
Jorge Montepeque
Global Editorial Director
News & Price Assessments
John Kingston
Global Director of Oil
New York
Dave Ernsberger
Asia Senior Editorial Director & Bureau Chief
Singapore
Kate Dourian
Senior Correspondent & Bureau Chief
Dubai
(English & French & Arabic languages)
Kevin Saville
Senior Editor
Platts Global Alert
New York
Vandana Hari
Asia News Director
Singapore
Simon Thorne
Managing Editor
Oil, Europe, Middle East, Africa
London
Linda Rafield
Senior Oil Analyst & Editor
Platts Futures & Derivatives Review
New York
Paul Young
Managing Editor
Oil Markets
Singapore
John Roberts
Energy Security Specialist
London
Jeff Mower
Editor-in-Chief
Oilgram Price Report
New York
Shailaja Nair
Managing Editor
Asia Central Editing Desk
Richard Swann
Managing Editor of Oil Europe, Middle East, Africa
Richard Swann
Star Spencer
Senior Writer
Houston
(company financials, exploration)
David Hanna
China Senior Market Director
Beijing
(English & Chinese languages)
Walid Kurdi
European Crude Oil Editor
London
(English & Arabic languages)
Annette Hugh
Editorial Director & Bureau Chief
Houston
Linda Rafield
Senior Oil Analyst & Editor,
Platts Futures & Derivatives Review
New York
Gasoline or petrol is a refined product produced in oil refineries and derived from crude oil through the distillation process. It's the most popular fuel for internal combustion engines in the United States, but increasingly diesel is the preferred choice in Europe. Depending on setup, refiners can produce up to 21 gallons of gasoline from a 42-gallon barrel of crude oil. Platts assesses dozens of grades of gasoline in North America, Europe and Asia from such trading hubs as U.S. Gulf Coast, Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp, Singapore and the Middle East. In addition to price assessments, Platts covers news, supply/demand, refining and other information affecting this product. Platts' coverage also includes market information and price assessments of naphtha, which is a volatile hydrocarbon mixture refined from crude oil and used in the production of high-octane gasoline, olefins for plastics and other petrochemical products, and cleaning solvents.
Simon Thorne
Managing Editor Oil, Europe, Middle East, Africa
London
Beth Evans
Senior Managing Editor
Platts Oilgram News
New York
John Kingston
Global Director of Oil
New York
Dave Ernsberger
Asia Senior Editorial Director & Bureau Chief
Singapore
Andrew Bonnington
Managing Editor
European Oil Products
London
Robert Sharp
Manager
U.S. Downstream
Houston
Diesel, like gasoline, is refined from crude oil. It is the primary fuel for the world's trucks, trains and, in just about everywhere but the United States, automobiles. Diesel fuel has a heavier hydrocarbon make up than gasoline and is thus heavier or denser than gasoline. It therefore contains more BTUs (British Thermal Units—a measure of power output) and generally nets a better mileage than gasoline. Other benefits of diesel are that it is less volatile than gasoline and produces fewer greenhouse gas emissions. Over the years, its high sulfur content and carbon monoxide emissions have been lowered. Also, it stores more easily than gasoline because it does not include the lighter blendstocks of gasoline which may evaporate or degrade with time. Depending on set up, refiners can produce between 10 to 15 gallons of diesel from a 42-gallon barrel of crude oil. In addition to covering news, supply and demand fundamentals and other information, Platts assesses prices of about a dozen grades of diesel fuel in North America, Europe and Asia. Diesel is typically cheaper to make than gasoline, but as a result of increased demand, has increased in price. The U.S. is an exporter of diesel to Europe and an importer of gasoline.
Simon Thorne
Managing Editor Oil, Europe, Middle East, Africa
London
Beth Evans
Senior Managing Editor
Platts Oilgram News
New York
David Ruisard
Manager
Gasoline & Distillates
Houston
Andrew Bonnington
Managing Editor
European Oil Products
London
Fuel oil, also known as residual fuel, is one of the heaviest commercial fuels produced by oil refineries through the distillation of crude oil. It is heavier in density than other refined products such as gasoline or naphtha (used as a feedstock for petrochemicals in gasoline production). In the U.S., less than two gallons of fuel oil or residual fuel is typically produced from one 42-gallon barrel of oil. However, in Europe and Russia, that quantity may be considerably higher. Catalytic cracking (the cracking of atoms to form different compounds) is central to the production of fuel oil--separating the more valuable light-weight fuels from the heavier residual fuels. In addition to covering supply and demand factors that affect the market and refining operations, Platts assesses prices in dozens of grades of fuel oil in North America, Europe and Asia. Fuel oil or residual fuel is used as a feedstock for making bunker fuel. Also, lower-sulfur fuel oil is used to fuel bulk power generation operations and other industrial activities such as the smelting of aluminum.
Simon Thorne
Managing Editor Oil, Europe, Middle East, Africa
London
Eswaran (Esa) Ramasamy
Director
Americas Market Reporting
Houston
Dave Ernsberger
Asia Senior Editorial Director & Bureau Chief
Singapore
Andrew Bonnington
Managing Editor
European Oil Products
London
Maria Gradobitova
Market Editor
Fuel Oil
London
Bunker fuel oil is the heaviest commercial fuel derived from crude oil, typically blended from fuel oil. It literally comes from the bottom of the crude barrel. It's much heavier than gas oil and diesel and is used to fuel ships. Bunker refers to the containers on ships and in ports where the oil is stored; in the days when coal powered steam ships, fuel was stored in coal bunkers. In addition to news and information on shipping rates, port conditions, refinery operations, Platts assesses the price of four key grades of bunker fuel from 58 port locations around the world. These assessments are recognized by the industry as a benchmark for world-wide bunkers: from Asia, where the world's largest bunker port—Singapore--is located to Rotterdam, Europe's largest port; and then across the Atlantic to the United States. As environmental maritime regulations have come into force, creating a new sector of demand for low-sulfur fuel, Platts has pioneered new pricing references for bunker fuel, with accompanying daily assessments to better represent and assess the changing market.
Simon Thorne
Managing Editor Oil, Europe, Middle East, Africa
London
Robert Sharp
Manage
U.S. Downstream
Houston
Dave Ernsberger
Asia Senior Editorial Director & Bureau Chief
Singapore
Andrew Bonnington
Managing Editor
European Oil Products
London