The U.S. petroleum refining industry has played a central role in the expansion of this country's energy capacity over the last century. Currently, petroleum refiners generate products which account for approximately 40 percent of the total energy consumed in the United States (with respect to Btu units). The industry is characterized by a small number of large, integrated companies with multiple high-capacity refining facilities.

Between 1982 and 1997, the total number of U.S. refineries had declined from 300 to 164 operating companies. This contraction was due for the most part to the closing down of the smaller refining operations, i.e., refineries with less than 50,000 barrels of crude oil per day (BPD) capacity. While the smaller refineries still generally account for up to half of all U.S. facilities, in aggregate they control barely 14 percent of total U.S. crude refining capacity.

Process Description: Overview

In general...