| AG |
Arabian Gulf |
| AGO |
Atmospheric gasoil |
| ALG |
Algerian |
| Alkylate |
A gasoline blending component
composed of isobutane and propylene or butylene. |
| Aniline point |
Reports the aromatics content of a
mixture. |
| ANS |
Alaska North Slope |
| API |
American Petroleum Institute |
| API gravity |
An arbitrary scale expressing the
gravity or density of liquid petroleum products devised
jointly by the American Petroleum Institute and the
National Bureau of Standards. The measuring scale is
calibrated in terms of degrees API. Oil with the least
specific gravity has the highest API gravity. The formula
for determining API Gravity is as follows:
Degrees API Gravity= (141.5/Specific Gravity at 60 Deg. F) – 131.5 |
| ARA |
Amsterdam - Rotterdam - Antwerp |
| Aromatics |
Group of petrochemicals
characterized by a ring structure, they are produced in
refinery reformers and petrochemical plants. The most commonly traded
are benzene, toluene and xylenes. They are used for
chemical production or as high-octane components for
gasoline blending.
|
| ASPH |
Asphaltene |
| Asphalt |
- A mixture
of bitumen and mineral aggregate as prepared for
the construction of roads or in other paving
uses.
- in the US
it refers to the product that is known as bitumen
in the rest of the world.
|
| ATL |
Atlantic |
| AUD |
Australian dollar |
| Avails |
Availabilities |
| Avgas |
High octane aviation gasoline used
in piston type aircraft engines. |
| Backwardation |
Market situation where prices are
highest in the nearest date periods and are lower in
forward delivery dates. |
| Barge |
A vessel carrying oil usually on
rivers - containing between 8,000 to 50,000 bbl or
weighing 1,000 to 10,000mt. In the US, barges can be up
to 100,000 bbl, and some are even a bit larger. |
| Barrel |
A volumetric unit of measure for
crude oil and petroleum products. 1 barrel equals 42 US
gallons, 35 imperial gallons or 159 liters. |
| Bill of Lading |
Documentation associated with a
specific cargo of oil and is signed by the captain of the
ship and the contract supplier. |
| Blendstock |
A component combined with other
materials to produce a finished refined product. |
| BS&W |
Bottom sediment and water, usually
expressed as a percentage by weight. |
| BTU |
British Thermal Unit |
| BTX |
Benzene, toluene and xylene. |
| BTX extraction |
The process for removing benzene,
toluene and xylene from reformate or pyrolysis asoline. |
| Bunker C |
A residual fuel used as ship's
fuel, usually has a high sulfur content and high
viscosity. |
| Catfeed |
Feedstock to a catalytic cracker,
usually vacuum gasoil. |
| Cat gasoline |
(cat naphtha) A gasoline blending
component made in a cat cracker. |
| CD |
Canadian dollar |
| Cetane |
A paraffinic hydrocarbon used
hydrocarbon used as an additive in diesel fuel. |
| Cetane Number |
Number equal to the percentage by
volume of cetane added to basic diesel fuel to achieve
specific ignition performance characteristics. |
| C+F |
Cost and Freight |
| CFD |
Contract For Differences. A type
of crude oil swap. |
| CFPP |
Cold filter plugging point |
| CIF |
Cost, insurance and freight
charges for shipping products. CIF prices include these
charges. |
| Cloud Point |
The temperature at which a fuel,
when cooled, begins to congeal and take on a cloudy
appearance due to bonding of paraffins. |
| CNR |
Charterer not revealed |
| COA |
Contract of affreightment between
ship owner and charterer. |
| Contango |
Market situation where prices are
progressively higher for forward delivery dates than for
nearer delivery dates. |
| Cracked |
Molecules broken by certain
refining processes...the opposite of straight-run. |
| Cracked fuel |
Residue remaining after a straight
run fuel has been processed by enhanced refining methods
such as catalytic cracking. |
| Credit |
Terms of payment, i.e. 5, 10 days. |
| CST |
Centistokes - A way of measuring
viscosity similar to seconds. |
| CT |
Cent |
| CTS |
Cents |
| CUM |
Cubic meters |
| Demurrage |
The detention of a vessel in
loading or unloading beyond the time agreed upon.
Demurrage charges are usually incurred for any delay. |
| DERD |
Directorate of Engine Research and Development. It is a UK Ministry of Defense jet fuel specification. |
| Diesel Index |
A measure of the ignition quality
of a diesel fuel calculated from a formula involving the
gravity of the fuel and its aniline point. |
| Diff |
Differential, usually between two
prices. |
| DM |
Deutschemark |
| Dtd |
Dated |
| Eff |
Effective. |
| E-4 |
C.I.S. high sulfur straight-run
feedstock. Formerly called F-10. |
| EFP |
Exchange of futures for physicals. |
| FCCU |
Fluid catalytic cracking unit. |
| Feedstock |
Material used in a processing
plant. |
| FCC |
First class charterer |
| FCC |
Fluid catalytic cracker or cat
unit. |
| FFR |
French franc |
| Flash Point |
The lowest temperature under very
specific conditions at which a combustible liquid will
give off sufficient vapor to form a flammable mixture
with air in a standardized vessel. Assesses the
volatility of the product. |
| FOB |
Free on board. fob prices exclude
all, insurance and freight charge |
| FOD |
Fuel Oil Domestique |
| FOR |
Free on rail |
| FORTIES |
The first substantial oil field in
the British sector of the North Sea. |
| FOT |
Free on truck |
| FR |
France |
| FR. ATL. |
French Atlantic |
| GAL |
gallon |
| Gasoil |
An intermediate distillate product
used for diesel fuel, heating fuel and sometimes as
feedstock. Term is often used interchangeably with No. 2
heating oil. |
| GBP |
Pound sterling |
| CARIBS |
Caribbean |
| G/L |
Grams per liter |
| GOM or G.M. |
Gasoil Moteur -- French gasoil
spec. |
| Group 3 |
Formerly three railroad companies
in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Group 3 now refers to the pipeline
price of petroleum commodities from Tulsa to Minnesota. |
| Group 120 |
South Texas reporting group. In
December 1982, this group stopped reporting and was replaced the following year by Group 140. |
| Group 140 |
Conway, Kansas group of propane
producers, replaced Group 120 in January 1983. |
| HDA |
Hydrodealkylation, a process used
for making benzene from toluene. |
| Heavy crude oil |
Has API gravity lower than 28
degrees. The lower the API gravity, the heavier the oil. |
| HKD |
Hong Kong dollar |
| HLS |
Heavy Louisiana Sweet |
| HO |
Heating oil |
| H/P |
High pour |
| HS |
High sulfur |
| HSFO |
High sulfur fuel oil |
| IOC |
Indian Oil Corp. |
| IPE |
International Petroleum Exchange |
| Isomerate |
A gasoline blendstock made in an
isomerization unit |
| ITT |
In-tank transfer |
| Kero |
Kerosene |
| KT |
one thousand metric tons. |
| L.A. |
Los Angeles |
| Landed Cost (of oil) |
The cost of oil off-loaded at a
port. Similar to CIF, but would also include any duties
fees or taxes. |
| Lifting |
Tankers and barges loading
petroleum at a terminal or transfer point. |
| Light crude oil |
Has an API gravity higher than 33
degrees. The higher the API gravity, the lighter the
crude oil. |
| Light products, light ends |
The group of petroleum products
with lower boiling temperatures including gasolines and
distillate fuels. |
| LLS |
Light Louisiana Sweet |
| LNG |
Liquefied natural gas |
| L/P |
Low pour |
| LPG |
Liquefied petroleum gases such as
propane and butane produced at refineries or natural gas
processing plants, including plants that fractionate raw
natural gas plant liquids. |
| LS |
Low sulfur |
| LSFO |
Low sulfur fuel oil |
| LSWR |
Low sulfur waxy residual fuel oil |
| LVN |
Light virgin naphtha |
| Med |
Mediterranean |
| Metric Ton |
A standard measurement: averages
7.33 barrels of crude oil. |
| Midgrade unleaded |
Unleaded gasoline with a 89 R+M/2
octane rating. |
| MOGAS |
Abbreviation for motor gasoline |
| MON |
Motor Octane Number |
| MT |
Metric ton |
| MTBE |
Methyl tertiary butyl ether -- an
octane booster and oxygenate used for gasoline blending. |
| MTH |
Month |
| MYR |
Malaysian ringgit |
| Naphtha |
Straight-run gasoline fractions.
Used as a feedstock for reforming and as a petrochemical
feedstock. |
| N+A |
Naphthenes and aromatics |
| N/A |
Not applicable |
| Naphthenic |
A high naphthenes content |
| Naphthenic naphtha |
Usually favored as reformer
feedstock. |
| NGL |
Natural gas liquids. Includes
ethane, propane, butane and condensate. |
| NOR |
Notice of readiness |
| NPH |
Naphtha |
| NWE |
Northwest Europe |
| NYMEX |
New York Mercantile Exchange |
| Octane number |
A measure of the detonation
quality of gasoline. The higher the octane number, the
higher the resistance to engine knock. |
| Olefins |
A group of petrochemicals
characterized by their straight or branched structure.
Includes ethylene, the largest volume petrochemical, and
propylene and butadiene. |
| Out-turn |
Quantity of oil unloaded from
vessel at discharge point. |
| Oxygenate |
Oxygen-containing blend stocks
favored for their octane and their clean burning quality.
Includes MTBE and ethanol. |
| PADD |
Petroleum Allocation for Defense
District. A group of five geographic areas in the US used
in reference to petroleum distribution. |
| Paraffinic |
A high paraffins content |
| Paraffinic naphtha |
Usually favored quality of naphtha
for ethylene plant feedstock. |
| P/C |
Part-cargo |
| PCT |
Percent |
| Petrochemicals |
Chemicals derived from petroleum;
feedstocks for the manufacture of plastics and synthetic
rubber. Petrochemicals include benzene, toluene, xylene,
styrene, and methanol. |
| PG |
Persian Gulf (Same as Arab
Gulf--AG) |
| Polymers |
Made from monomers. The most
common include widely traded plastics like polyethylene,
polypropylene and polystyrene. |
| PONA |
Paraffins, olefins, naphthenes and
aromatics content. |
| Posted Price |
A statement of the price requested
by a seller of crude oil or products. The "list
price." |
| Pour Point |
Lowest temperature which oil will
readily flow without disturbance when chilled. |
| PPM |
Parts per million |
| PPT |
Prompt |
| Prem |
Premium |
| Pygas |
Pyrolysis gasoline. A
naphtha-range product with a high aromatics content used
either for gasoline blending or as a feedstock for a BTX
extraction unit. Pygas is produced in an ethylene plant
that processes butane, naphtha or gasoil. |
| Rack Pricing |
Selling to petroleum jobbers or
other resellers FOB at the refinery, with the customer
picking up transportation charges. The price of petroleum
products at the refinery loading rack; cash and carry at
the refinery's loading dock. |
| Reformate |
A high-aromatics, high-octane
product made in a reformer and used to blend motor
gasoline or aviation gasoline. |
| Reg |
Regular gasoline. Usually contains
lead. |
| Reg Unl |
Regular unleaded gasoline. |
| Resids |
Residual fuel oils |
| R+M/2 |
Research Octane Number plus Motor
Octane Number divided by 2. A gasoline octane designation
commonly used in the US |
| RNR |
Rate not revealed |
| RON |
Research octane number |
| RSFO |
Regular sulfur fuel oil |
| RVP |
Reid vapor pressure, a measure of
a gasoline's volatility. |
| SFR |
Swiss Franc |
| SG |
Specific gravity |
| SGD |
Singapore dollar |
| Simex |
Singapore Monetary Exchange |
| Sour/Sweet Crude |
Definitions which describes the
degree of a given crude's sulfur content. Sour refers to
high sulfur and sweet to low-sulfur. |
| SPR |
Strategic Petroleum Reserve in the
US |
| Steam cracker |
(Ethylene plant) A petrochemical
plant that produces olefins, particularly ethylene, and,
in some cases, aromatics. |
| Straight-Run |
Material which has come straight
from an atmospheric distillation unit and has not been
cracked or reformed, and which is usually used as a
feedstock or as a utility fuel. |
| TC |
Time charter |
| UKC |
UK Continent |
| ULCC |
Ultra large crude carrier; has
capacity for 320,000 to 600,000 dwt. |
| UNL |
Unleaded. |
| USAC |
US Atlantic Coast |
| USD |
US dollar |
| USG |
United States Gulf |
| USWC |
US West Coast |
| Vanadium |
Metal present in certain types of
fuel |
| VGO |
Vacuum gasoil, also known as cat
feed. Feedstock for fluid catalytic cracker used to make
gasoline, No.2 oil and other byproducts. |
| VIS or VISC |
Viscosity. A measure of a liquid's
resistance to flow. Several viscosity scales are used
depending on the type of oil being measured. |
| VLCC |
Very large crude carrier; has
capacity for 200,000 to 320,000 dwt. |
| WTI |
West Texas Intermediate. The WTI
spot price of crude is reported from Cushing, Oklahoma. |
| WTS |
West Texas Sour |
| WYO SWT |
Wyoming Sweet |