METI project aims to refine oil more efficiently

Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) will spearhead a five-year project to develop technologies to refine crude oil with greater efficiency, to yield more gasoline, diesel and other high-value petroleum products. With existing refining technologies, some 70% of crude is converted to high-value products. The ministry’s goal is to boost that to 80%, which would enable Japan to reduce its demand for crude oil by a corresponding 10%. The ¥10 billion (US$121.26 million) project starting in fiscal 2011 will involve both the public and private sectors. The project will also seek to develop refining technologies that can make better use of heavy crude oil. As a first step, METI has earmarked ¥2.4 billion (US$29.1 million) to conduct a thorough analysis of the composition of petroleum before and after refining, collecting data on which petroleum products are refined and in what amounts when such factors as temperature and pressure are changed. (January 14, 2011)