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8736196 
Journal Article 
Changing US crude imports are driving refinery upgrades 
Gunaseelan, P; Buehler, C 
2009 
0 
Oil and Gas Journal
ISSN: 0030-1388 
107 
30 
50-56 
English 
The increased crude oil imports to the US from Canada is accompanied by significant investments in oil sands production in Canada, development of pipeline infrastructure, and refinery expansion leading to raised use of hydrogen, steam and power for gasification. The industry is also coming up with number of projects to expand the distribution of heavy Canadian crude further in the US in order to address the demand for condensate among Canadian heavy crude producers. The modifications lead by exports enable a refinery to process heavy Canadian crude depending on several factors for a desired refined product mix. A number of refinery expansion projects that use the delayed coking route to bitumen processing typically require a subsequent hydrocracking step to upgrade range of products. The increased need for gasification is a key driver for petroleum refining based system with increasing uncertainty in natural gas prices thereby reducing generation of waste and improved efficiency.