182 PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY, ECONOMICS, AND POLITICS
setting the gasoline to distillate production ratio. Beyond a certain
point, distillate production can only be increased by also increasing
gasoline production.
6.6.2 U.S. Refining Capacity
The refining capacity in the United States, as measured by daily processing capacity of crude oil distillation units alone, has appeared
relatively stable in recent years, at about 18 million barrels per day
of operable capacity. While the level is a reduction from the capacity of twenty years ago, the first refineries that were shut down as
demand fell in the early 1980s were those that had little downstream
processing capability. The small facilities, limited to simple distillation, became uneconomical as the need for downstream processing
became a necessity. Additional refineries were shut down in the late
1980s and during the 1990s because of unprofitability and, at the
same time, refiners improved the efficiency of crude oil distillation
units that remained in service by debottlenecking to improve the
flow and to match capacity among different units and by turning
more and more to computer control of the overall processing.
Furthermore, following the need for environmentally benign
products as well as commercial economics, refiners enhanced their
upgrading (downstream processing) capacity. As a result, the capacity of the downstream units ceased to be the constraining factor on
the amount of crude oil processed through the crude oil distillation
system. In fact, crude oil input to refineries has continued to rise,
and along with them refining capacity rose throughout much of
the 1990s and refinery utilization reached record levels in the last
half of the decade. In the United States, the Gulf Coast is the leader
in refinery capacity and is the nation's leading supplier in refined
products as in crude oil.
6.6.3 World Refining Capacity
While the Mideast is the largest producing region, the bulk of refining takes place in the United States, Europe or Asia because it was
cheaper to move crude oil to the consuming areas rather move the
products and the proximity to consuming markets made it easier
to respond to weather-induced spikes in demand or to gauge seasonal shifts. Thus, the largest concentration of refining capacity is in
the United States, accounting for about one-quarter of the crude oil
setting the gasoline to distillate production ratio. Beyond a certain
point, distillate production can only be increased by also increasing
gasoline production.
6.6.2 U.S. Refining Capacity
The refining capacity in the United States, as measured by daily processing capacity of crude oil distillation units alone, has appeared
relatively stable in recent years, at about 18 million barrels per day
of operable capacity. While the level is a reduction from the capacity of twenty years ago, the first refineries that were shut down as
demand fell in the early 1980s were those that had little downstream
processing capability. The small facilities, limited to simple distillation, became uneconomical as the need for downstream processing
became a necessity. Additional refineries were shut down in the late
1980s and during the 1990s because of unprofitability and, at the
same time, refiners improved the efficiency of crude oil distillation
units that remained in service by debottlenecking to improve the
flow and to match capacity among different units and by turning
more and more to computer control of the overall processing.
Furthermore, following the need for environmentally benign
products as well as commercial economics, refiners enhanced their
upgrading (downstream processing) capacity. As a result, the capacity of the downstream units ceased to be the constraining factor on
the amount of crude oil processed through the crude oil distillation
system. In fact, crude oil input to refineries has continued to rise,
and along with them refining capacity rose throughout much of
the 1990s and refinery utilization reached record levels in the last
half of the decade. In the United States, the Gulf Coast is the leader
in refinery capacity and is the nation's leading supplier in refined
products as in crude oil.
6.6.3 World Refining Capacity
While the Mideast is the largest producing region, the bulk of refining takes place in the United States, Europe or Asia because it was
cheaper to move crude oil to the consuming areas rather move the
products and the proximity to consuming markets made it easier
to respond to weather-induced spikes in demand or to gauge seasonal shifts. Thus, the largest concentration of refining capacity is in
the United States, accounting for about one-quarter of the crude oil