Crude Oil Quality Considerations under Carbon Cap and Trade

摘要

Purchase of carbon credits under a cap and trade program increases operating costs forrnrefineries and changes the way a refinery operates. The degree of processing requiredrnto upgrade a heavy sour crude oil to finished products emits more greenhouse gasesrnthan making the same products from a light sweet crude oil. The difference in therngreenhouse gases emitted also increases with increasing refinery complexity.rnThis paper examines how crude oil quality impacts the level of carbon emissions fromrnthe refining process. Specifically, the paper explores the amount of greenhouse gasesrnemitted as a function of crude quality for a full-conversion refinery utilizing hydrocrackingrnand coking. The paper further highlights the relative contribution to the carbonrnemissions for different processing configurations downstream of the crude unit.