# [TECH] Petroleum Refining

**Petroleum Refining** is the separation and conversion of crude oil into fuels (petrol, diesel, jet fuel), lubricants, and petrochemical feedstocks — the primary energy source of the 20th century.

## Overview

Edwin Drake's oil well (1859, Pennsylvania) launched the petroleum industry. Early refining produced kerosene for lighting. The ICE created enormous demand for petrol. Thermal cracking (Burton, 1913) and later catalytic cracking (Houdry, 1936) allowed refiners to maximise the yield of high-octane petrol. Petrochemicals (derived from refining) became the basis for plastics, synthetic fibres, rubber, and pharmaceuticals.

## Key Actors

- **Companies**: Standard Oil/ExxonMobil (1870), Royal Dutch Shell (1907), BP (1909), Chevron (1879), Saudi Aramco (1933)
- **Inventors**: Edwin Drake (1819–1880), William Burton (1865–1954), Eugène Houdry (1892–1962)

## Key Patents

- Burton, W. US Patent 1,049,667 (1913) — thermal cracking
- Houdry, E. US Patent 1,837,963 (1931) — catalytic cracking

## Economic Value

Global oil and gas industry revenue: **\$USD 5.0 trillion/year** (2022, IEA). Petrochemicals add a further \$USD 600B/year. The combined petroleum economy is the single largest industrial sector.

## Notes

IEA *World Energy Outlook* 2023. Petrochemical market: ICIS. The petroleum industry is facing structural decline due to electrification and climate change.

## What This Enables

- **[TECH] Internal Combustion Engine** — PetrolMass petroleum refining for gasoline and diesel refined from crude oil arewas the fuelsfuel supply chain that enabled mass deployment ofglobal ICE vehiclesdeployment.
- **[TECH] Jet Engine** — Jet fuel (kerosene/Jet-A) is a petroleum refining product; without it, jet turbines cannot operate.

# Parents

* [TECH] Chemical Industry
* [TECH] Steam Engine & Heat Engines
* [TECH] Chemical Industry