U.S. Refining

The boom in U.S. oil and natural gas production has grabbed the headlines the last few years. What shouldn’t be forgotten, though, is that Americans depend on refined petroleum products like gasoline, diesel and jet fuel—not crude—to get from Point A to Point B, and that in some parts of the country, especially the Northeast, fuel oil—not natural gas or electricity—remains the space-heating fuel of choice. Transporting large volumes of petroleum products from refinery to consumer is a monumental and complicated task, a mission accomplished primarily by a still-growing, ever-evolving network of pipelines and storage facilities. Today, we begin a new series on how gasoline, distillate (diesel and heating oil), and jet fuel get to where they’re needed.