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duke3522
Heavy Crude
Joined: Apr 02, 2005
Posts: 397
Location: Indiana
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 Posted: Fri Apr 22, 2005 8:52 am Post subject: Light Sweet Crude vs Heavy Sour Crude |
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I am pretty new here and need a little help. Can someone please point me to some info that will inform me as to the difference between Light Sweet and Heavy Sour crude? My basic understanding is that the more sour the more sulfur. But I am also under the belief that sour crude contains less of the lighter distillates. Last night on CNBC they talked as though the difference is just a matter of removing the sulfur, and that the refineries that can handle sour crude are making a bundle due to the discount of the sour crude.
Please help enlighten a muddled mind.  |
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RonMN
Fission
Joined: Mar 18, 2005
Posts: 2627
Location: Minnesota
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| Posted: Fri Apr 22, 2005 8:58 am Post subject: |
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You're right...sweet has much less sulpher than sour crude...
The light & heavy is physically lighter or heavier...think of it as motor oil Vs. the tar on the road. now they couldn't actually pump road tar but as it gets heavier it's harder to pump out of the ground.
(that is my understanding...i am NOT an expert). |
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FatherOfTwo
Intermediate Crude
Joined: Nov 11, 2004
Posts: 978
Location: Heart of Canada's Oil Country
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| Posted: Fri Apr 22, 2005 9:09 am Post subject: Re: Light Sweet Crude vs Heavy Sour Crude |
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| duke3522 wrote: | I am pretty new here and need a little help. Can someone please point me to some info that will inform me as to the difference between Light Sweet and Heavy Sour crude? My basic understanding is that the more sour the more sulfur. But I am also under the belief that sour crude contains less of the lighter distillates. Last night on CNBC they talked as though the difference is just a matter of removing the sulfur, and that the refineries that can handle sour crude are making a bundle due to the discount of the sour crude.
Please help enlighten a muddled mind. |
The problem is that there is a serious lack of refining capacity for sour crudes. You can pump all the sour you want, if you can't refine it, it won't do anybody much good. This is why there is such a spread between light and sour crudes... not many can handle it.
So, all we need to do is build more sour crude refineries right? Well, ya, that will be necessary. But lets not lose sight of the most important fact.
Light sweet crude has peaked
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Do not underestimate the difficulties of surviving the transition of peak oil, nor the dangers of global warming. We must embrace nuclear energy and renewables. |
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big_rc
Heavy Crude
Joined: Jul 17, 2004
Posts: 490
Location: Amerika (most of the time)
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| Posted: Fri Apr 22, 2005 9:10 am Post subject: |
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There have been a number of threads adressing this topic. Do a quick search and you will find all of the info you want.
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Simon's Law: Everything put together falls apart sooner or later.
I don't think of all the misery, but of all the beauty that still remains.--Anne Frank |
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