Crude oil is the type of oil used to create fuel like gasoline, heating oil, and more

An overview of crude oil, including its constituent hydrocarbons and refinement outputs

The mixture is primarily composed of molecules of carbon and hydrogen atoms bonded into a variety of shapes and lengths, giving each different chemical properties, such as boiling points. Refining can remove elemental impurities—such as sulfur—after hydrocarbons are separated, ensuring the resulting products can be used effectively in other machines, such as car engines.

View the 45 gallons of refined products created from each 42-gallon barrel of crude oil

More than 85% is refined into fuels, such as gasoline and diesel, while about 10% is converted into raw materials for plastics, synthetic rubbers, and other essential products, such as lubricants. Because the majority of these products are less dense than the starting crude oil and additional inputs are introduced during the refining process, there is a processing gain of three gallons.

How crude oil is split across oil markets based on geographic origin

Brent, West Texas Intermediate, and Dubai are the three crude oil classes and differ in terms of typical refinery uses, density, sulfur content, and suitability for financial benchmarking. Brent, which originates in the North Sea, is traders' go-to benchmark, in part, because it is easily shipped and politically stable, and used to price most of the crude sold internationally.

Learn about the chemical refinement of crude oil, from cracking to reforming and blending

Just as an organism's digestive system can break down complex molecules in food into simple sugars that cells can use, cracking uses catalysts and other chemicals to break apart large hydrocarbons in crude oil into smaller molecules. These can then be chemically reshaped, combined, or purified into useful petroleum products.

See where the 100 million barrels of crude oil the world consumes daily end up

From drilling to driving, crude oil is processed in refineries and transformed into everyday products like fuel, plastics, lubricants, and cosmetics. The US currently uses about 20 million of those barrels per day.

A look at types of crude oil, distinguished by properties like heaviness and sweetness

API gravity is a unit that describes how heavy or light a crude oil sample is based on its density, with higher values indicating lighter, more valuable oil that requires less processing. The sweetness of crude oil refers to the amount of sulfur it contains, where sour crude oil requires more extensive treatment to remove the more abundant sulfur and sweeten it.

The ins and outs of oil refining

The oil industry is broken up into the upstream, midstream, and downstream segments, and oil refining is part of the latter. “Downstream” refers to companies like Standard Oil that are converting crude oil into a finished product.

View a sample of objects surprisingly derived from crude oil, including chewing gum and lipstick

Crude oil processing produces a variety of fuels and the building blocks for plastics, but it also distills out the hydrocarbons used to make aspirin, Teflon, vinyl, crayons, candles, Tupperware, roofing shingles, asphalt pavement, hair dye, anesthetics, food-grade lubricants, polyester, synthetic rubber, and resins for items like dentures.

Demystifying the claim that crude oil is inorganically created and a renewable resource

The abiogenic petroleum theory holds that fossil fuels originate in Earth's mantle and are constantly replenished, rather than formed by microorganisms over millions of years. While inorganic chemical processes can produce simple hydrocarbons, the range of complex molecules found in crude oil suggests an origin from a diverse set of organisms. Isotope analyses of these molecules also support the model that they originated from living things that preferentially take up certain isotopes over others.

An animated visualization of the distillation of crude oil into petroleum products

When crude oil is boiled, its constituent hydrocarbons turn into steam and rise through a distillation tower, where temperature decreases with height. Because different chemical vapors cool back into liquids at distinct temperatures, hydrocarbons naturally sort themselves by boiling point and can then be processed separately into distinct outputs.

The price of crude oil accounts for roughly half of the price displayed at the gas pump

While the price of crude oil has the largest impact on the price of gas, the cost of refinement, taxes, and distribution jointly make up nearly half of how gas is priced. Because of the many factors that influence the price of gas, eliminating taxes during expensive periods might not effectively lower prices.

Oil and natural gas from fracking is considered unconventional

This method forcibly extracts fossil fuels from tightly packed rocks, where they form from organic matter that has undergone extreme heat and pressure. Conventional drilling, on the other hand, waits for the oil and gas to escape from shale and accumulate in more porous and permeable rocks, such as limestone.

Understanding why the US can't use its own crude oil and depends on global markets

Before advancements in fracking technology made lighter shale oil readily available, US refineries had been built and optimized for decades to process heavier oil from other countries with high profitability. Despite being able to refine lighter oil, US oil companies can operate with better margins by exporting it to other nations whose refineries are optimized for it and importing heavier oil, for which the US has the infrastructure.

The US exported more crude oil and petroleum products than it imported in 2025

In fact, the US has been exporting more oil and petroleum products than it imports since August 2021. Petroleum and petroleum product exports totaled about 10.7 million barrels per day, whereas imports totaled about 7.9 million barrels per day.

The recorded history of crude oil use, starting with Babylonians waterproofing boats

The ancient civilization located in modern-day Iraq also used crude oil as mortar in construction, while the Egyptians used it to treat human remains during the mummification process. After the invention of the first motorcar in 1885 and the introduction of the affordable Model T in 1908, demand for crude oil skyrocketed.

The story of the first commercial US oil well and why crude oil is measured in barrels

The 1859 oil discovery in Titusville, Pennsylvania, sparked a boom in oil exploration and production to meet the demand for kerosene lamp fuel. Because the 42-gallon barrel was a readily available container already in use for shipping fish, butter, wine, and other goods, it was adopted by the Petroleum Producers Association in 1872 and by both the US Geological Survey and the US Bureau of Mines in 1882.

The price of gas is a composite made up of several different factors, with the federal gas tax making up less than 20% of what drivers pay at the pump.

The world derives more of its energy from oil than from any other resource

Coal and gas are second and third, respectively, in terms of where the bulk of the world’s energy consumption stems from. These interactive charts can help you visualize where the world sources the most of its energy.

OPEC often intervenes to influence the price of oil

This guide explains how investing in oil works with in-depth explanations of each of the forces that control oil’s price. Oil is unique as a commodity in part because of OPEC’s role in regulating its price.

Understanding the causes and environmental impacts of crude oil spills and leaks

Although some oil regularly leaks from the bottom of the oceans through the gradual erosion of sedimentary rock, major spills result from accidental ruptures of pipelines or damage to transportation vessels or rigs. Oil can break down the water-repelling ability of feathers, remove the insulation of fur, and poison food chains if ingested.

Internal-combustion engines convert fuel into motion using controlled explosions

Gasoline engines mix fuel and air, compressing it and igniting it to create thousands of tiny explosions that push pistons up and down. This movement spins the crankshaft, which moves a vehicle's wheels.

Real estate is grouped into broad categories: residential, commercial and industrial

Other categories of real estate include raw land and “special use” real estate, which includes cemeteries. Technically speaking, real estate is considered an alternative investment.

The science (and scams) behind essential oils

Essential oils are a big business, with industry estimates pegging its market size at $10B last year—a number expected to double by 2030. These distilled plant compounds have a long history of both legitimate and exaggerated uses, and many marketed oils are, as the author of this long read claims, just selling wish fulfillment. Revisit some of the history and contemporary use of essential oils with this piece.

There are five main types of FIRE

Many different types of FIRE exist, and their methodologies and end goals vary drastically. “Lean FIRE” followers, for instance, are minimalists who plan to live modestly in retirement. “Barista FIRE” proponents plan to work part-time in retirement.

Call options 101

A call option is a contract that gives the option buyer the right to buy an underlying asset at a specified price within a specific time period. A call buyer profits when the underlying asset increases in price. Learn more about the financial contract and how you can use it in this article.

Understanding the distinctions between coffee types

If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed looking at a coffee shop menu, you're not alone. Here's a breakdown between common coffee styles. Click through the link to see similar guides to espresso and cold drinks.

How fusion—which releases energy when two lighter atoms combine to form a heavier atom—differs from fission

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Watch contemporary footage covering the US-backed Shah of Iran fleeing the country in the face of the 1979 Iranian Revolution