Petroleum Classification Methods and Their Application to Crude Oil Selection for Refinery Operations: A Critical Review

Various petroleum classifications have been developed over the years using different crude oil characteristics, techniques, and approaches. A review of all these classifications made so far has not been published in recent decades and no relation to the crude oil selection process has been investigated yet. Crude oil selection is a very delicate process, requiring the right balance between crude oil purchase costs, which can account for up to 95% of total refining costs, and minimizing the risk of unplanned shutdowns, which can result from undesirable asphaltene precipitation, equipment fouling, accelerated corrosion, and disruptions in the operation of desalters and other process units. The current research conducts a review of the distinct petroleum classifications published in the literature and discusses their possible link to the expected performance of a modern high complexity petroleum refinery in terms of minimizing the risk of unplanned shutdowns. An intercriteria analysis approach is proposed as a tool to discriminate those crude oils from a database of comprehensive assays of 1390 crude oils, which may invoke a possible unplanned shutdown of the petroleum refinery under study based on a previous experience.