Crude oil is the term used for oil that is taken straight out of the ground. It is a "fossil fuel," which means that it formed from organic remains over a period of millions of years. It can be refined into various forms of energy such as gasoline, diesel fuel and heating oil.
It also is a key component in a variety of products. For example, crude oil is an important ingredient in plastics, medicines, crayons and tires. About 84 percent of the United States’ energy consumption comes from fossil fuels and approximately 40 percent of all energy used comes from various petroleum products that start out as crude oil.
Crude oil's characteristics vary from "light" - which is a straw-colored liquid - to "heavy" or tar-black solid. It also is called "sweet" or "sour" depending on the amount of sulfur it contains. An abundant commodity, world proven reserves stand at 1,295,085 million barrels.
Crude oil is processed at refineries and transformed into useable petroleum products. The cost of transporting and moving crude oil to refineries, plus processing fees, greatly affects the final cost of petroleum products. Motor gasoline constitutes about half of the total volume of products produced from crude oil.
SemGroup's Involvement
SemCrude® and SemCanada Crude provide diverse services for the crude oil industry in the United States and Canada. These services include transporting, gathering, storing, distributing and marketing.
In Europe, SemLogistics Milford Haven is the largest independent petroleum products storage facility in the United Kingdom, and it is the only one capable of handling crude oil.