In the energy sector, company operations are often categorized into three major sectors namely: upstream, midstream, and downstream. Focusing on midstream operations, these involve the critical task of transporting crucial resources such as oil, natural gas liquids, and refined petroleum products from their extraction sites to various locations for further processing or distribution. Meanwhile, downstream businesses deal with...
1. The energy sector is divided into three sectors: upstream, midstream, and downstream.
2. Midstream operations are responsible for transporting resources like oil, natural gas liquids, and refined petroleum from extraction sites for further processing or distribution.
3. Downstream businesses refine raw materials, turning crude oil into usable products such as gasoline and diesel.
4. The downstream sector forms the most critical part of the oil and gas supply chain, ensuring the availability of energy resources to industrial, commercial, and domestic users.
5. The efficiency of downstream operations directly impacts the cost, quality, and accessibility of energy resources, thus affecting energy policy decisions, economic conditions, and environmental sustainability.
In the United States, the midstream sector moves nearly 16 billion barrels of crude oil and petroleum products annually.
In downstream businesses, the focus shifts towards refining raw materials extracted by the upstream companies into a form that can be used by customers. This includes refining crude oil into gasoline, diesel, and other petroleum products. It further encompasses marketing and distributing these products to the end consumers. Therefore, the downstream sector forms the last and most critical part of the oil and gas supply chain. It is instrumental in ensuring the availability of energy resources to industrial consumers, commercial establishments, and domestic users. The efficiency and reliability of downstream operations directly impact the cost, quality, and accessibility of energy resources. Consequently, it influences energy policy decisions, global economic conditions, and environmental sustainability.