What is Crude Oil?

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What Exactly is Crude Oil?



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What is Crude Oil?


It is important to understand a few basic properties of crude oil, the key raw material processed in a refinery.

Crude oils are not all the same, but rather vary in color, composition, and consistency. They are generally classified as” light” or “ heavy”, and “sweet” or “sour”.

Unlike water, crude oil is not a chemical compound. Rather, it is a complex mixture of molecules, consisting of compounds formed from hydrogen and carbon atoms, called “hydrocarbons”. Just as water boils at 212 degrees Fahrenheit, each of the compounds in crude oil has its own boiling temperature.



In general, the more carbon atoms in the hydrocarbon molecule, the higher the temperature at which it boils and vaporizes. It is this phenomenon that permits crude oil to be refined into so many different products.