Ground to Gas Tank: the Journey of Gasoline

In the early days of oil exploration, the most demanded resource that could be obtained from oil through distillation was kerosene, which was widely used for lamp oil across the United States. The volatile nature of gasoline made it an impractical byproduct of petroleum, and it was often discarded. Gasoline, once a useless byproduct, saw a major upturn in demand as the automobile gained a stronghold as the major source of transportation in the U.S. Today, gasoline is the most highly demanded petroleum product, and the oil industry strives to continually improve processes and maximize the amount of gasoline that can be produced per barrel of crude oil.

Crude oil originates deep within the earth as the result of a combination of complex processes involving the breakdown of organic matter under intense heat and pressure. Oil collects deep underground in large deposits called reservoirs, which companies such as Western Pipeline Corporation seek to discover and produce through drilling operations. Once oil is produced from the earth, it is transported via pipeline, truck, railroad, vessel or a combination of these means to refineries. Crude oil is naturally occurring, but must be treated at specialized refining facilities to obtain high demand gasoline and the multitude of other petroleum products used today. The production, treatment and distribution of gasoline used to power automobiles require coordination among automobile manufacturers, parts suppliers and refineries to ensure compatibility and proper performance of the end product.

The amount of gasoline that is naturally produced per barrel of crude is not sufficient to meet the extensive demand for gasoline in the U.S. The early 1900s brought about the utilization of cracking as a means of significantly increasing the amount of gasoline that can be obtained per barrel of crude oil. Cracking involves the breakdown of large hydrocarbons into smaller ones, facilitating increased gasoline production. Cracking methods continue to progress and aim to improve on the ratio of gasoline that can be obtained from crude oil.

Once gasoline as we know it reaches its final state at a refinery, it must be distributed to service stations across the nation and the world to be purchased by end consumers. The price that the end consumer pays for gasoline is determined in part by the distance that the gasoline must be transported, with longer travel distances incurring additional logistical costs. Continued consumer reliance on automobiles as a major means of transportation suggests that the oil industry must continue to improve on production and refining process in order to satisfy demand.