The downstream sector of The petroleum industry is the refining of crude oil and the processing and purifying of raw natural gas,[1] as well as the wholesale and retail marketing and distribution of petroleum products derived from them.[2] It is, along with midstream and upstream, one of three major sectors of the petroleum industry.
The downstream sector produces such consumer petrochemicals as gasoline or petrol, kerosene, jet fuel, diesel oil, heating oil, fuel oils, lubricants, waxes, asphalt, natural gas, and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) as well as naphtha and hundreds of others.
ISO definition
editISO 20815, 3.1.8 downstream, defines downstream as "business process, most commonly in petroleum industry, associated with post-production activities".
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- Example: refining, transportation and marketing of petroleum products.[3]
Sulfur
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This section needs to be updated. (September 2026)
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Elemental sulfur production as a byproduct of crude oil refining is a part of the downstream sector of the petroleum industry.
Crude oil is a mixture of many varieties of hydrocarbons and most usually have many sulfur-containing compounds. The oil refining process commonly includes hydrodesulfurization which converts most of that sulfur into gaseous hydrogen sulfide. Raw natural gas also may contain gaseous hydrogen sulfide and sulfur-containing mercaptans, which are removed in natural-gas processing plants before the gas is distributed to consumers.
The hydrogen sulfide removed in the refining and processing of crude oil and natural gas is subsequently converted into byproduct elemental sulfur. In 2005, the vast majority of the 64,000,000 tonnes (63,000,000 long tons; 71,000,000 short tons) of sulfur produced worldwide was byproduct sulfur from refineries and natural-gas processing plants.[4][5]
See also
edit- Coalbed methane – Form of natural gas extracted from coal beds
- Extraction of petroleum – Removal of petroleum from the earth
- Hydrocarbon exploration – Attempts to locate oil and gas
- Midstream – Sector of the oil and gas industry
- Natural gas – Gaseous fossil fuel
- Natural-gas condensate – Low-density mixture of hydrocarbon liquids
- Natural gas field – Subsurface pool of hydrocarbons
- Natural-gas processing – Industrial processes designed to purify raw natural gas
- Petroleum – Naturally occurring combustible liquid
- Oil production plant – Facility which processes production fluids from oil wells
- Oil refinery – Facility that processes crude oil
- Oil well – Well drilled to extract crude oil and/or gas
- Upstream (petroleum industry) – Sector of the oil and gas industry
References
edit- ↑ Industry Overview from the website of the Petroleum Services Association of Canada (PSAC)
- ↑ Burclaff, Natalie. "Research Guides: Oil and Gas Industry: A Research Guide: Downstream: Refining and Marketing". Library of Congress. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
- ↑ ISO/DIS 20815:2026: Petroleum, petrochemical and natural gas industries - Production assurance and reliability management, accessed 16 September 2026
- ↑ Sulfur production report by the United States Geological Survey
- ↑ Discussion of recovered byproduct sulfur