Light crude oil

Distribution of mercaptan sulfur among the different cuts of Arabian Light crude oil. 

The API gravity of water is 10°. A light crude oil would have an API gravity of 40°, while a heavy crude would have an API gravity of less than 20°. In the field, the API gravity is readily measured using a calibrated hydrometer. 

Table 2. Properties of Various Residua Produced from Tia Juana, Venezuela Light Crude Oil...

The decreasing availability of light crude oils (which contain relatively few contaminants). 

Results using the swirling flask test for dispersant effectiveness have been reported. Heavy oils show effectiveness values of approximately 1%, medium crude oils of approximately 10%, light crude oils of approximately 30%, and very light oils of approximately 90%. 

Figure 1 -6 General relationship of the properties of residua from Tia Juana light crude oil with yield.

Even though the simplest means to cover the demand growth in low boiling-products is to increase the imports of light crude oils and low-boiling petroleum products (Chapter 1) these actions are not the complete answer to the issues. Thus new conversion processes have come on-stream. 

Tar Sands (Oil Sands) Sands that contain bitumen, which is a tar-like crude oil substance that can be processed and refined into a synthetic light crude oil. Typically, tar sands are mined from vast open pits where deposits are softened with blasts of steam. The Athabasca sands in Alberta, Canada and the Orinoco sands in Venezuela contain vast amounts of tar sands. The Athabasca sands are now producing commercially in high volume. 

The 180°-350°F heavy naphtha is compared in Table V with a raw naphtha derived from Arabian light crude oil. The shale oil naphtha is a better reformer feed than the petroleum stock it is higher in octane and naphthenes and lower in paraffins. 

In these tests the same procedure was followed as that used in the immiscible case. In order to assure complete miscibility of the oil and CO2 phases n-octane was used to simulate a typical light crude oil. 

Light crude oil Heavy crude oil Extra heavy crude oil Bitumen (tar)... 

Oil producers will typically set standards for oil-in-water content ranging from less than 10 ppm in very light crude oils to several hundred parts per million in very heavy crude oils. These specifications are usually site-specific and are dependent on equipment available and crude-oil type. Oil producers in Canada usually have the advantage of disposal wells or water-flood schemes in which produced water is disposed. Failure to meet self-imposed oil-in-water limits usually results in loss of hydrocarbon product back to the formation. For an oil production facility that disposes of 1000 m of water per day with an oil content of 1000 ppm, 365 m of oil is lost per year. At 25 (Canadian) per barrel, this amount of oil translates to a product loss worth approximately 57,000 per year, plus any maintenance costs and well stimulation costs to restore injectivity lost as a result of formation plugging from oil-wet solids. Oil-wet solids in water-flood systems may damage formation permeability and reduce recovery. 

Emulsions stabilized by paraffin are usually restricted to light crude oils in oil-field production. If paraffin deposition that restricts production is occurring upstream of an oil-treating facility, it may be feasible to apply a paraffin crystal modifier to the crude oil to prevent paraffin deposition and to eliminate paraffin as an emulsifying agent. A paraffin crystal modifier must enter an oil system at a temperature greater than the cloud point of the crude oil and upstream of the problem area. 

Crude Oil A naturally occurring hydrocarbon produced from an underground reservoir. See also Asphalt, Bitumen, Extra-Heavy Crude Oil, Heavy Crude Oil, Light Crude Oil, Oil. 

Light Crude Oil A naturally occurring hydrocarbon having a viscosity less... 

---