What is the process of petroleum in plants? - Most Common Oils from Petroleum Plants - Petroleum plants in India

What is the process of petroleum in plants?

Petroleum plants are used for processing petroleum into different types of fuel oil, diesel fuel and asphalt. Petroleum oil can be used to produce diesel and kerosene oil. The petroleum plant process involves separation of crude oil into various fractions including naphtha, gasoline, kerosene and diesel. Crude oil can be processed into different fuels using various processes including cracking, hydrocracking, coking, visbreaking, solvent deasphalting and others.

The petroleum plant consists of two basic units called petrochemicals unit and refinery unit. The first unit is where crude oil is separated into various heavy oils, middle oils and light ends. Heavy oils are further processed into fuel oil, gasoil and asphalt. Middle oils are converted into various chemical products and lighter oils are recycled back to the refineries unit. Processes like hydrotreating and polymerisation are carried out at this stage. Refinery unit is where refining activities take place. At this stage, the crude oil is processed into various grades of diesel and gasoline. Various chemical reactions take place to refine the petrochemical products into diesel and gasoline. After all these processes, petroleum is obtained in a liquid state. This liquid petroleum is then converted into different types of fuel oils which can be used to manufacture various types of engines.

Nowadays, many companies operate their own refineries and petrochemical plants. Many of these companies offer turnkey projects which allows a company to set up its own refinery without incurring huge cost involved. One advantage of these types of refineries is that they are easier to run since they don’t require much maintenance. Most of the time, turning a key project offers good savings in comparison to building a new plant.

Most Common Oils from Petroleum Plants

Petroleum is produced from shale oil, natural gas, coal, petroleum coke, biomass, etc. The crude oil is refined into fuels and lubricants, while the residual fraction is converted into petrochemicals. The refining process produces many different types of chemicals and fuel oils. Petrochemical industry is a multi-billion dollar industry, employing thousands of workers across the globe.

Petrochemicals

The petrochemical industry refers to the chemical manufacturing sector of the oil refining industry. This includes plastics, detergents, paints, adhesives and pharmaceuticals. Petroleum processing involves separating crude oil into various fractions. Distillation is used to separate gasoline from kerosene. Refining distils paraffins from naphthenes, and aromatics from pyrolysis gas oils. There are many different types of refineries, including simple fractional distillations, catalytic cracking units, hydrocracking units, coking processes, fluidized bed reactors, steam cracker units, non-catalytic cracking units, and thermal cracking units. Petrochemicals are among the largest global industries. It is responsible for 30% of the world’s total energy production. The United States accounts for nearly half of worldwide petroleum consumption.

Petroleum

It is commonly known as petrol when it is used as fuel or petroleum when used in chemicals. When it comes to the crude oil extraction process, petroleum is created through the cracking of coals or heavy oils. It is also called light olefin oil or synthetic oil. To create petroleum from coal requires high temperatures between 1,000 °C and 1,100 °C during the conversion process. During this period, carbon dioxide and water vapour are generated along with petroleum.

Gas

Gasoline is a mixture of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). VOCs are defined as any compound containing carbon with at least one hydrogen atom bonded to a carbon atom. Carbon monoxide, methane, ethane, propane, butanes, pentanes and benzine are common gases found in gasoline.

In addition to these components, gasoline contains additives to improve its taste, odour, volatility, stability and performance. Additives may include ethanol, oxygenates, antioxidants, metal deactivators, surfactants, antifreezes, fluorescent brighteners, corrosion inhibitors, polymer stabilisers, lead scavengers, anti-icing agents, alcohols and polymers.

Petroleum plants in India

India is one of the world's largest oil producers, producing approximately 6% of global crude oil production, with 1/6th being produced from its offshore fields.  Exploration of petroleum requires large capital and advanced technologies. Due to this reason, few countries invest heavily in petroleum exploration. India's current production capacity stands at 60 mmscmd. As per the Indian government estimate, the country's total recoverable reserves are estimated to be around 462 bn barrels. Oil reserves were discovered in 1938 and gas in 1923. The first commercial discovery was made in 1940 in Bombay High, followed by Amritsar and Ratnagiri fields in 1946. This led to the establishment of Mukta Narain Limited in 1948 which later became ONGC. 

Today, IOC is India's largest oil company and is considered to be a model state-owned enterprise. There are several domestic exploration and production companies, including Bharat Oil, Hindustan Petroleum, Reliance Industries, Essar Oil, NALCO, GAIL, ONGC Videsh and Oil India Limited. A variety of international companies operate refineries in India, such as Chevron Corporation, ExxonMobil, Eni, PetroChina, PTT Global Chemical Company, Valero Energy Corporation, Shell, Total S.A., Tesoro Logistics, LyondellBasell Industries and BP. The country also produces liquefied natural gas (LNG), which is shipped off-shore to overseas markets through the domestic pipeline network.

India is the second largest producer of oil after Saudi Arabia, with approximately 1.75% of global reserves. India imports petroleum from Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Russia, Qatar, UAE, USA and Venezuela. There is a difference between crude oil and petroleum products. Crude oil is only refined into common fuels like gasoline and diesel. Petroleum Products are manufactured at refineries using crude oil. Petrol, diesel and aviation turbine fuel are some of the common items manufactured from crude oil.

Where are the Petroleum Plants located in India? 

Petroleum is obtained from underground by drilling wells or bore wells. Most countries have their own exploration policy, but they use mainly three methods to obtain petroleum - seismic, geophysical and geochemical. Geophysical explorations involve the use of ground penetrating radar, magnetic resonance imaging and seismology. Geochemical exploration uses x-ray diffraction, mass spectrometry and neutron activation analysis. Seismic exploration involves placing explosives near a well, then monitoring sound waves. Each method offers different possibilities of finding petroleum.

Petroleum production was first discovered in 1855 when the British Navy drilled the first well near Bombay (now Mumbai). Today, India accounts for 25% of global oil reserves, and ranks fifth worldwide in proven oil reserves. However, the country only imports 70% of its total energy requirements. This is because India has large deposits of oil shale, lignite, tar sands, and uranium.

Most of India's oil exploration takes place in the Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park. The park covers an area of around 7,400 square kilometres and shares the boundary with Sri Lanka. The park has around 1,000 islands, which makes exploring the waters hazardous. Many of these islands are uninhabited, but some are inhabited, mainly by fishermen. Oil rigs are banned from entering the Gulf of Mannar, due to the risk of damaging the fragile marine environment.

The discovery of oil in Bhutan in 2006 became the first commercial exploitation of hydrocarbons in the Himalayas. However, this proved difficult because of limited infrastructure. Despite attempts to develop pipelines and roads, the government has invested heavily in solar and wind energy instead.

The Indian state of Orissa sits on one of the largest concentrations of oil reserve in the world. It also happens to be the most polluted state in India. Oil is found in the Chako Hills, Bailadoria basin, and Kalimati hills. However, much of the land is unstable, prone to earthquakes, landslides, and subsidence.