Refinery Feedstocks

Refinery feedstocks are the streams a refiner or petrochemical plant buys to fill its own units, and they are bought on what they will crack or distil into rather than on a burner specification. Gas condensate, the light liquid recovered when wet natural gas is stabilised at the field, is classified with crude under HS 2709.00 and goes to condensate splitters and naphtha crackers: North West Shelf condensate is assessed at 63° API and 0.003% sulphur, Platts' Eagle Ford condensate at a typical 52° API and 0.1% maximum sulphur, and Nigeria's Akpo stream at about 46° API. Vacuum gasoil (HS 2710.19) is the heavy distillate cut from a vacuum unit and the classic feed for fluid catalytic crackers and hydrocrackers; Platts assesses 0.5%, 1% and 2% sulphur VGO on the US coasts, and refiners check nickel, vanadium, Conradson carbon and nitrogen because they poison catalyst. Straight-run fuel oil (HS 2710.19) is unblended atmospheric residue sold as coker and residue-cracker feed; US Gulf Coast imports hit records in 2024, and Indonesia's low-sulphur waxy residue (LSWR) moves across Asia from Balikpapan and Dumai.

The buyers are refiners short of conversion feed, condensate splitter owners and petrochemical groups. CBIL is a commodity brokerage company and brokers each cargo against the producing refinery or field operator named on the certificate of analysis or assay, SGS or Intertek quantity and quality inspection at the load terminal, and a named buyer or charterer. Oil feedstocks attract fabricated offers, and the Port of Rotterdam's storage-spoofing blacklist holds more than 1,250 fake terminal websites; deals built on tank storage receipts, dip tests, SCO/ICPO/FCO sequences or advance fees are not worked, because an inspection report proves quality, not title. All three streams ship as MARPOL Annex I oil cargoes in product or crude tankers, heated where needed, on FOB and CIF terms, with prices referenced to Platts or Argus. Finished fuels are on the fuel oil and refined fuels pages. Send the stream, key limits, tonnage, discharge port and laycan, and the enquiry is screened and worked against it.