AM-14-15 Challenges of Processing Feeds Derived from Tight Oil Crudes in the Hydrocracker

Description:

With the increase in supply of domestic unconventional oils, especially tight oils, U.S. oil production outweighs the country's oil imports for the first time in two decades. Current estimated reserves of approximately 50 billion barrels of shale oil in the United States indicate tight oil is here to stay and will play an important role in current and future refinery economics. Hence, fully understanding tight oil will be a crucial part of the current and future oil resource for refiners. Major tight oil sources in the United States come from the Bakken, Eagle Ford and Permian Basin formations. Refiners are processing significantly increasing amounts of crudes derived from the extraction of oil from shale deposits. While these “tight oils” have revolutionized crude supplies in the United States, they also are presenting refiners with new challenges. These crudes produce hydrocracker feeds with significantly fewer contaminants than oil sands derived feeds or conventionally produced gas oils, but there are reports that they may be contributing to crude blending compatibility issues, furnace and heat exchanger fouling, yield selectivity changes, and product quality issues.