When a barrel of crude oil is pulled out of the earth, there are a myriad of possible paths it can take on its way to public consumption.  With our modern refineries’ ability to create so many products out of this simple natural resource, it is no wonder that these paths can become quite complex.  So what actually happens to oil after it leaves companies such as Triple Diamond Energy Corp.?  The possibilities may surprise you.

How Companies Like Triple Diamond Energy Corp. Divide The Oil

Which refinery the extracted oil is sent to depends on the end products desired from it.  There are quite a variety of oil refineries throughout the United States, each with refining capacities that range from hundreds of barrels per hour to hundreds of thousands of barrels per hour.  The reason there are so many refineries isn’t just economic – the United States government has mandated that a single refinery must produce at maximum thirteen percent of the countries full capacity.  This prevents a well-established refinery from becoming a near-monopoly and guarantees diversity among the various refineries across the nation.

Distillation is the initial process that occurs when crude oil is brought into the refinery.  As the oil is brought to higher and higher heat levels, it is possible to separate its components as each has a unique boil temperature.  The oil boils into a vaporous steam, and as the steam is collected so that it can condense back into liquid.  Once this condensation is complete, separation can now occur.

Once distillation is complete, the liquid can be transformed into the various products that are in demand from a particular refinery.  By extracting and separating the impurities from the liquid, a multitude of fuels can be created – from diesel fuel for trucks to premium unleaded for sports cars, and everything in between.  In general, the more effort that has to go into the refining process, the more expensive the fuel product becomes.  You can see this for yourself when you look at the gas prices on the pump at your local filling station.

What The Future Holds For Oil Refineries In America

While oil companies such as Triple Diamond Energy Corp. are in the limelight for recent record profits, the overall refinery business is not as rosy as all would be led to believe.  In fact, some domestic refineries are losing profits.  In the last two decades, many big oil companies have reduced their stake in refinery ownership by 20 percent or more, though independently owned refineries are actually on the increase, tripling their capacity in the same time period.

But despite the economic ups and downs, companies such as Triple Diamond Energy Corp. continue to focus on retaining access to the end products that the United States and the world demand in ever increasing quantities.