Report on the Chevron Richmond Refinery's Operations and Processes

The Chevron Richmond Refinery, with a rich history dating back to the early 1900s, is a major player in the oil refining industry, processing over 240,000 barrels of crude oil per day. The refinery's primary products include gasoline, jet fuel, and diesel fuel. The refining process begins with distillation, separating crude oil into various components. Subsequent processes like hydrotreating remove sulfur and nitrogen, while cracking units, such as the Fluidized Catalytic Cracking Unit (FCC) and Hydrocracking Unit, convert heavy fuels into usable transportation fuels. The report details the catalytic reforming and alkylation processes which result in high-octane fuels. Finally, the finished products are blended with additives and stored for distribution via tanker, truck, or pipeline. The refinery focuses on producing clean-burning gasoline that meets stringent global requirements.

Portfolio Milestone

Chevron Company History
The Chevron Richmond Refinery belongs to a community that possesses a rich history dating
back to the early 1900s. In fact, the Refinery has been in place since before the City of Richmond
was incorporated in 1905. Today, the Refinery provides jobs for more than 1,000 people, covers
approximately 2,900 acres, and has a refining capacity of 240,000 barrels of crude oil per day.
The Chevron Richmond Refinery processes more crude oil than any other refinery in the Bay
Area and ranks among the major refineries in the United States.
Oil refining is a highly competitive capital-intensive business, requiring complex processing
equipment. The essence of oil refining is converting crude oil into high-value products. Our
central focus is on making transportation fuels – gasoline, jet and diesel – as well as lubricating
oils. We are responsible caretakers of our land and environment; we operate our own electricity,
steam, and water treatment facilities, and even maintain a vast wetlands reserve.
What We Do: The Refining Process
Chevron's Richmond Refinery processes over 240,000 barrels of crude oil a day in the
manufacture of petroleum products and chemicals used to manufacture many other useful
products. The Refinery's primary products are motor gasoline, jet fuel, diesel fuel and lubricants.
The refining process starts in the distillation towers. Here, liquids and vapors are separated into
components according to weight and boiling point. The lighter, more valuable fuels are separated
from the heavier products. From the crude units, nearly all of the products are then treated to
remove sulfur and nitrogen, primarily by "hydrotreating." The resulting sulfur is recovered and

sold for industrial uses. The nitrogen is converted to ammonia for sale to the fertilizer industry.
Only about 40 percent of crude oil is comprised of the ingredients
for the high-quality fuels we produce. The remaining components
of crude are heavy, poor performing fuels prior to further
treatment. To convert these heavy fuels to usable transportation
fuels requires a process known as conversion or cracking. Using cracking units, the large
molecules in heavy fuels are converted into smaller molecules, which we can use to make
transportation fuels.
At the Chevron Richmond Refinery, we have two main types of cracking units:
 The Fluidized Catalytic Cracking Unit (FCC), or "cat cracker," cracks the heavy material
into gasoline, the most demanded transportation fuel.
 The Hydrocracking Unit is another catalytic cracking unit. Chevron's patented
Hydrocracking process is called an ISOMAX Unit. The catalyst in the ISOMAX is designed
to crack heavy material into gasoline and jet fuel.
At this stage, the molecules have been cracked, but these fuels are still not ready to power an
automobile or jet engine. Gasoline and jet are a blend of many components and so some of the
products from the cracking units must be arranged and rearranged to burn cleanly and with better
performance. The Catalytic Reforming and Alkylation processes result in higher octane fuels
designed to meet the needs of today's engines.

Finally, after more than 200 hydrocarbons and additives have been blended into the fuel, the
finished products are held in storage tanks, ready to be shipped via tanker, truck or pipeline to
our customers. We are proud to produce the latest generation of clean-burning gasoline that
meets the most stringent requirements in the world.