Thread on crude quality
1- Crude quality mattered from the early days of the oil industry. Most of the market was for Kerosene and companies wanted crude that yielded the most Kerosene. Everything else was thrown away.

#Oil #Oil_History #Crude_Quality_Matters

2- (Lima Oil) in Ohio was one of the main sources of Rockefeller’s wealth. The oil was so sour & stinky that all producers lost money. Rockefeller bought everything dirt cheap. He hired a chemist who separated the Sulfur, the he made a fortune selling Kerosene.
#Oil_History

3- When #Shell discovered oil in Brunei, in an effort to lessen its dependence on Russian crude, it ended up with a problem: the oil was not good for Kerosene production! Almost the whole oil demand then was for Kerosene.
#Oil #Oil_History #Crude_Quality_Matters

4- Then the Benz gasoline engine was introduced in 1888, & the world changed forever. Gasoline, for the first time, become a viable product. Shell was the best positioned to take advantage of the gasoline boom. Its crude in Brunei was perfect for producing gasoline.
#Oil_History

5- But the demand for gasoline was growing at a very high rate while oil supplies were not enough: Brunei supplies were limited while oil production in Pennsylvania and Ohio declined drastically. Welcome to East #Texas!
#Oil_History #oil

6- The #Spindletop oil discovery in East #Texas brought oil rich in gasoline. It created an entry for #Shell to tap US crude to supply various markets with gasoline. The discovery brought independents from all walks of life, production increased, prices declined. TRRC steps in!

- About 100 years later, we have a reversal: gasoline demand growth is expected to decline in the coming decades, while demand for heavier products is expected to increase. But most growth in production coming from #shale that yields more gasoline than other products!
#oil