Refining

The largest value element of crude oil deliveries derives from the ability to refine it into products that are needed by customers. Each crude oil grade yields a different mix of products and each refined product has its own separate market.

A simple refinery involves atmospheric distillation, as well as some common secondary processes, to raise the quality of the refined product. One consequence of atmospheric distillation is that it produces large volumes of residual fuel oil, especially from heavier grades of crude oil.

A complex refinery goes one step further in that it produces more of the higher value light products, such as petrol, diesel and heating oil.

A highly complex refinery simply adds more sophistication to the secondary processing, consuming low value, heavy products through residue destruction technologies. Some highly complex refineries are integrated with sophisticated petrochemical plants or lubricants plants that enhance the value of crude oil even further.

Tamoil has three refineries, one in Italy (Cremona), one in Germany (Hamburg) and one in Switzerland (Collombey).
The three Tamoil refineries, with a total nominal capacity of 255,000 barrels per day, process more than 11 million metric tons annually.

Occasionally, Tamoil also uses third party refineries to meet additional downstream-refined product requirements.

Refined products are distributed and marketed through the Tamoil retail network and wholesale channels.

In order to comply with the new and more stringent product specifications, all three Group refineries have been recently upgraded and modernised and the opportunity has been taken at the same time to greatly improve production capacity, efficiency and quality.