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Oil, Gas & Mining vocabulary · Refining & Petrochemicals

API gravity

Meaning in oil, gas & mining, with examples

nounAdvanced term

In oil, gas & mining, API gravity means: A scale created by the American Petroleum Institute that shows how light or heavy a crude oil is compared with water. A higher number means lighter oil; water is 10 degrees.

In Turkish: API gravitesi, API derecesi

How it is used

Given in degrees: a 35° API crude. Light crudes (roughly above 31°) usually yield more gasoline and diesel and sell at higher prices; heavy crudes (below about 22°) need more processing. Traders quote API gravity and sulphur content together.

Example sentences

  1. The crude has an API gravity of 38 degrees and very little sulphur.

  2. Oil with a low API gravity flows slowly and may need heating or diluting for transport.

Common collocations

  • degrees API
  • light crude
  • heavy crude
  • crude assay
  • crude oilOil in its natural state as it comes out of the ground, before it is refined into fuels such as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel.
  • sour crudeCrude oil with a high sulphur content, usually more than 0.5 percent. Crude with little sulphur is called sweet crude.
  • Brent crudeA blend of crude oils from the North Sea whose price is the main international benchmark for pricing oil around the world.
  • refineryAn industrial plant where crude oil is heated, separated and chemically changed to make products such as gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, LPG and asphalt.

More terms: Refining & Petrochemicals

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