| Key Terms |
Definition |
| Asphalt |
A dark-brown-to-black cement-like material containing bitumens as the predominant constituent
obtained by petroleum processing; used primarily for road construction. It includes crude
asphalt as well as the following finished products: cements, fluxes, the asphalt content of
emulsions (exclusive of water), and petroleum distillates blended with asphalt to make
cutback asphalts. Note: The conversion factor for asphalt is 5.5 barrels per short ton.
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| Aviation Gasoline Blending Components |
Naphthas which will be used for blending or compounding into finished aviation gasoline
(e.g., straight-run gasoline, alkylate, reformate, benzene, toluene, and xylene).
Excludes oxygenates (alcohols, ethers), butane, and pentanes plus. Oxygenates are reported as
other hydrocarbons, hydrogen, and oxygenates.
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| Barrel |
A unit of volume equal to 42 U.S. gallons.
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| Biomass-Based Diesel Fuel |
Biodiesel and other renewable diesel fuel or diesel fuel blending components derived from biomass, but
excluding renewable diesel fuel coprocessed with petroleum feedstocks.
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| Conventional Blendstock for Oxygenate Blending (CBOB) |
Motor gasoline blending components intended for blending with oxygenates to produce finished conventional
motor gasoline.
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| Conventional Gasoline |
Finished motor gasoline not included in the oxygenated or reformulated gasoline categories.
Excludes reformulated gasoline blendstock for oxygenate blending (RBOB)
as well as other blendstock.
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| Crude Oil |
A mixture of hydrocarbons that exists in liquid phase in natural underground
reservoirs and remains liquid at atmospheric pressure after passing through
surface separating facilities. Depending upon the characteristics of the crude
stream, it may also include:
Small amounts of hydrocarbons that exist in gaseous phase in natural
underground reservoirs but are liquid at atmospheric pressure after being
recovered from oil well (casinghead) gas in lease separators and are subsequently
commingled with the crude stream without being separately measured. Lease
condensate recovered as a liquid from natural gas wells in lease or field
separation facilities and later mixed into the crude stream is also included;
Small amounts of nonhydrocarbons produced with the oil, such as sulfur and
various metals;
Drip gases, and liquid hydrocarbons produced from tar sands, oil sands,
gilsonite, and oil shale.
Liquids produced at natural gas processing plants are excluded. Crude oil is refined to produce
a wide array of petroleum products, including heating oils; gasoline, diesel and jet fuels;
lubricants; asphalt; ethane, propane, and butane; and many other products used for their
energy or chemical content.
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| Distillate Fuel Oil |
A general classification for one of the petroleum fractions produced in conventional
distillation operations. It includes diesel fuels and fuel oils. Products known as No. 1,
No. 2, and No. 4 diesel fuel are used in on-highway diesel engines, such as those in trucks
and automobiles, as well as off-highway engines, such as those in railroad locomotives and
agricultural machinery. Products known as No. 1, No. 2, and No. 4 fuel oils are used primarily
for space heating and electric power generation.
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| Finished Aviation Gasoline |
A complex mixture of relatively volatile hydrocarbons with or without small quantities of
additives, blended to form a fuel suitable for use in aviation reciprocating engines. Fuel
specifications are provided in ASTM Specification D 910 and Military Specification MIL-G-5572.
Note: Data on blending components are not counted in data on finished aviation gasoline.
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| Finished Motor Gasoline |
A complex mixture of relatively volatile hydrocarbons with or without small quantities of
additives, blended to form a fuel suitable for use in spark-ignition engines. Motor gasoline,
as defined in ASTM Specification D 4814 or Federal Specification VV-G-1690C, is characterized
as having a boiling range of 122 to 158 degrees Fahrenheit at the 10 percent recovery point to
365 to 374 degrees Fahrenheit at the 90 percent recovery point. Motor Gasoline includes
conventional gasoline; all types of oxygenated gasoline, including gasohol; and
reformulated gasoline, but excludes aviation gasoline. Note: Volumetric data on blending
components, such as oxygenates, are not counted in data on finished motor gasoline until
the blending components are blended into the gasoline. |
| Fuel Ethanol |
An anhydrous denatured aliphatic alcohol intended for gasoline blending as
described in Oxygenates definition.
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| Gasoline Treated as Blendstock (GTAB) |
Non-certified Foreign Refinery gasoline classified by an importer as blendstock to be either blended or reclassified with respect to
reformulated or conventional gasoline. GTAB was classified on EIA surveys as either reformulated or conventional based on emissions performance and the intended end use in data through the end of December 2009. Designation of GTAB as reformulated or conventional was discontinued beginning with data for January 2010. GTAB was reported as a single product beginning with data for January 2010. GTAB data for January 2010 and later months is presented as conventional motor gasoline blending components when reported as a subset of motor gasoline blending components. |
| Imports |
Receipts of crude oil and petroleum products into the 50 States and the District of Columbia
from foreign countries, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and other U.S. possessions and territories.
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| Kerosene |
A light petroleum distillate that is used in space heaters, cook stoves, and water heaters
and is suitable for use as a light source when burned in wick-fed lamps. Kerosene has a
maximum distillation temperature of 400 degrees Fahrenheit at the 10-percent recovery point,
a final boiling point of 572 degrees Fahrenheit, and a minimum flash point of 100 degrees
Fahrenheit. Included are No. 1-K and No. 2-K, the two grades recognized by ASTM Specification
D 3699 as well as all other grades of kerosene called range or stove oil, which have properties
similar to those of No. 1 fuel oil. See Kerosene-Type Jet Fuel.
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| Kerosene-Type Jet Fuel |
A kerosene-based product having a maximum distillation temperature of 400 degrees Fahrenheit at
the 10-percent recovery point and a final maximum boiling point of 572 degrees Fahrenheit
and meeting ASTM Specification D 1655 and Military Specifications MIL-T-5624P and MIL-T-83133D
(Grades JP-5 and JP-8). It is used for commercial
and military turbojet and turboprop aircraft engines.
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| Liquefied Petroleum Gases (LPG) |
A group of hydrocarbon-based gases derived from crude oil refining or nautral gas fractionation. For convenience of transportation, these gases are liquefied through pressurization. Historical EIA published LPG series includes: ethane, ethylene, propane, propylene, normal butane, butylene, isobutane, and isobutylene. This may not be consistent with other definitions of LPG which only include propane, normal butane, and isobutane.
|
| Lubricants |
Substances used to reduce friction between bearing surfaces or as process materials
either incorporated into other materials used as processing aids in the manufacture of
other products, or used as carriers of other materials. Petroleum lubricants may be produced
either from distillates or residues. Lubricants include all grades of lubricating oils from
spindle oil to cylinder oil and those used in greases. |
| Motor Gasoline Blending Components |
Naphthas which will be used for blending or compounding into finished aviation or motor gasoline
(e.g., straight-run gasoline, alkylate, reformate, benzene, toluene, and xylene). Excludes
oxygenates (alcohols, ethers), butane, and pentanes plus.
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| MTBE (Methyl tertiary butyl ether) |
An ether intended for gasoline blending as described in "Oxygenates."
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| Naphtha Less Than 401º F |
A naphtha with a boiling range of less than 401º F that is intended for use as a petrochemical feedstock.
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| OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) |
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) was founded in Baghdad, Iraq, with the signing of an agreement in September 1960 by five countries namely Islamic Republic of Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. They were to become the Founder Members of the Organization. These countries were later joined by Qatar (1961), Indonesia (1962), Libya (1962), the United Arab Emirates (1967), Algeria (1969), Nigeria (1971), Ecuador (1973), Gabon (1975), Angola (2007), Equatorial Guinea (2017) and Congo (2018). Ecuador suspended its membership in December 1992, rejoined OPEC in October 2007, but decided to withdraw its membership of OPEC effective 1 January 2020. Indonesia suspended its membership in January 2009, reactivated it again in January 2016, but decided to suspend its membership once more at the 171st Meeting of the OPEC Conference on 30 November 2016. Gabon terminated its membership in January 1995. However, it rejoined the Organization in July 2016. Qatar terminated its membership on 1 January 2019.
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| Other Oils Equal To or Greater Than 401º F |
Oils with a boiling range equal to or greater than 401º F that are intended for use as
a petrochemical feedstock. |
| Other Products |
Includes aviation gasoline, aviation gasoline blending components, miscellaneous products,
other hydrocarbons and oxygenates, pentanes plus, petroleum coke, and waxes.
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| Oxygenates |
Substances which, when added to gasoline, increase the amount of oxygen in that gasoline blend.
Ethanol, Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether (MTBE), Ethyl Tertiary Butyl Ether (ETBE), and methanol
are common oxygenates.
Fuel Ethanol: Blends of up to 10 percent by volume anhydrous ethanol (200 proof) (commonly referred to as the
"gasohol waiver").
Methanol: Blends of methanol and gasoline-grade tertiary butyl alcohol (GTBA) such that the total oxygen content
does not exceed 3.5 percent by weight and the ratio of methanol to GTBA is less than or equal to 1. It is also
specified that this blended fuel must meet ASTM volatility specifications (commonly referred to as the "ARCO"
waiver).
Blends of up to 5.0 percent by volume methanol with a minimum of 2.5 percent by volume cosolvent alcohols having a carbon number of 4 or less (i.e., ethanol, propanol, butanol, and/or GTBA). The total oxygen must not exceed 3.7 percent by weight, and the blend must meet ASTM volatility specifications as well as phase separation and alcohol purity specifications (commonly referred to as the "DuPont" waiver).
MTBE (Methyl tertiary butyl ether): Blends up to 15.0 percent by volume MTBE which must meet the ASTM D4814
specifications. Blenders must take precautions that the blends are not used as base gasolines for other
oxygenated blends (commonly referred to as the "Sun" waiver).
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| Pentanes Plus |
A mixture of hydrocarbons, mostly pentanes and heavier, extracted from natural gas.
Includes isopentane, natural gasoline, and plant condensate.
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| Persian Gulf |
Includes Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United
Arab Emirates.
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| Petrochemical Feedstocks |
Chemical feedstocks derived from petroleum principally for the manufacture of chemicals,
synthetic rubber, and a variety of plastics. The categories reported are "Naphtha Less
Than 401º F" and "Other Oils Equal To or Greater Than 401º F."
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| Petroleum Administration for Defense (PAD) Districts |
Geographic aggregations of the 50 States and the District of Columbia into five districts
by the Petroleum Administration for Defense in 1950. These districts were originally defined
during World War II for purposes of administering oil allocation.
Description and maps of PAD Districts and Refining Districts.
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| Petroleum Products |
Petroleum products are obtained from the processing of crude oil (including lease condensate),
natural gas, and other hydrocarbon compounds. Petroleum products include unfinished oils,
liquefied petroleum gases, pentanes plus, aviation gasoline, motor gasoline, naphtha-type jet
fuel, kerosene-type jet fuel, kerosene, distillate fuel oil, residual fuel oil, petrochemical
feedstocks, special naphthas, lubricants, waxes, petroleum coke, asphalt, road oil, still gas,
and miscellaneous products.
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| Reformulated Blendstock for Oxgenate Blending (RBOB) |
Motor gasoline blending components intended for blending with oxygenates to produce finished reformulated
motor gasoline.
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| RBOB for Blending with Alcohol |
Motor gasoline blending components intended to be blended with an alcohol component
(e.g. fuel ethanol) at a terminal or refinery to raise the oxygen content.
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| RBOB for Blending with Ether |
Motor gasoline blending components intended to be blended with an ether component
(e.g. methyl tertiary butyl ether) at a terminal or refinery to raise the oxygen content.
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| Reformulated Gasoline (RFG) |
Finished motor gasoline formulated for use in motor vehicles, the composition and properties
of which meet the requirements of the reformulated gasoline regulations promulgated by the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under Section 211(k) of the Clean Air Act.
This category includes oxygenated fuels program reformulated gasoline (OPRG) but excludes
reformulated gasoline blendstock for oxygenate blending (RBOB).
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| Renewable Fuels (Other) |
Fuels and fuel blending components, except biomass-based diesel fuel, renewable diesel fuel, and fuel
ethanol, produced from renewable biomass.
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| Residual Fuel Oil |
A general classification for the heavier oils, known as No. 5 and No. 6 fuel oils, that remain
after the distillate fuel oils and lighter hydrocarbons are distilled away in refinery operations.
It conforms to ASTM Specifications D396 and D975 and Federal Specification VV-F-815C.
No. 5, a residual fuel oil of medium viscosity, is also known as Navy Special and is defined in
Military Specification MIL-F-859E, including Amendment 2 (NATO Symbol F-770). It is used in
steam-powered vessels in government service and inshore powerplants. No. 6 fuel oil includes
Bunker C fuel oil and is used for the production of electric power, space heating, vessel
bunkering, and various industrial purposes.
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| Road Oil |
Any heavy petroleum oil, including residual asphaltic oil used as a dust pallative and surface
treatment on roads and highways. It is generally produced in six grades from 0, the most liquid,
to 5, the most viscous.
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| Special Naphthas |
All finished products within the naphtha boiling range that are used as paint thinners, cleaners, or solvents. These products are refined to a specified flash point. Special naphthas include all commercial hexane and cleaning solvents conforming to ASTM Specification D1836 and D484, respectively. Naphthas to be blended or marketed as motor gasoline or aviation gasoline, or that are to be used as petrochemical and synthetic natural gas (SNG) feedstocks are excluded. |
| Sulfur |
A yellowish nonmetallic element, sometimes known as "brimstone." It is present at various
levels of concentration in many fossil fuels.
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| Wax |
A solid or semi-solid material at 77 degrees Fahrenheit consisting of a mixture of
hydrocarbons obtained or derived from petroleum fractions, or through a Fischer-Tropsch
type process, in which the straight-chained paraffin series predominates. This
includes all marketable wax, whether crude or refined, with a congealing point
(ASTM D 938) between 80 (or 85) and 240 degrees Fahrenheit and a maximum oil content
(ASTM D 3235) of 50 weight percent.
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Definitions