Heavy Crude Oil

Heavy crude oil is the dense, viscous end of the barrel. It carries a lower API gravity and a higher concentration of heavy fractions, which makes it the natural feedstock for refineries built around conversion units — cokers, hydrocrackers and visbreakers — that turn heavy residue into higher-value product. INTBES supplies heavy crude in bulk cargoes with an assay issued before loading, so the buyer can match the barrel to the conversion configuration.

Heavy crude is not a discount product. It is a specialist feedstock: the refiner who can process it buys a cheaper barrel and converts the residue into gasoline and middle distillates, and the margin comes from the conversion step. The grade is chosen for what the refinery can do with it, not for what it looks like on paper.

Specification

Each cargo is sold against a written specification confirmed before loading:

• API gravity — heavy range, stated in the offer for each cargo
• Form — crude oil, shipped as loaded; heating may be required for discharge
• Sulfur, density, viscosity, pour point, water and sediment — reported in the assay
• Minimum order quantity — set per route and per discharge terminal
• Delivery — bulk cargo, terms by agreement

Why refiners choose heavy crude

The economics are simple: a heavy barrel costs less per tonne than a light one, and a refinery with spare conversion capacity can upgrade the residue into valuable product. A coker or hydrocracker that would otherwise run below capacity gets a cheap feed, and the refiner captures the spread between the heavy barrel and the light product. That is why heavy crude is a strategic feedstock for refineries with deep conversion, not a marginal one.

The trade-off is complexity. Heavy crude needs preheat, careful desalting and a conversion unit that can handle the residue. Buyers who lack that configuration should not take the grade; buyers who have it gain a structural cost advantage.

Applications and market

Heavy crude serves three channels. Refineries with coking or hydrocracking take it as a conversion feedstock. Asphalt and bitumen producers use the heavy residue as a binder feedstock. Traders blend heavy and light barrels to hit a refinery’s preferred gravity and sulfur window. Demand is concentrated where conversion capacity is available and where fuel oil demand is being replaced by upgrading capacity.

Supply and logistics

Heavy crude is loaded and discharged with attention to temperature. Loading port, laycan, Incoterm (FOB, CFR, CIF, DAP) and inspection are agreed in the offer. The cargo travels with a certificate of quality and a certificate of quantity from an independent inspector. Because the grade is viscous, the discharge terminal confirms heating and pumping capacity before the shipment is fixed.

Quality assurance

Sampling at loading covers API gravity, sulfur, viscosity, water and sediment. The assay is issued before the vessel sails. If the barrel does not match the agreed specification, it is not released, which protects the refiner from a feedstock that would upset the conversion unit.

Frequently asked questions

What API range counts as heavy? Heavy crude is generally below 22° API. The exact figure for each cargo is stated in the assay and the offer.

Does the cargo need heating? Yes, in most cases. Heavy crude is viscous at ambient temperature, so the discharge terminal needs heating and pumping capacity. That is confirmed before the shipment is fixed.

Which refineries should buy it? Refineries with coking, hydrocracking or visbreaking capacity. A refinery without conversion units cannot capture the value of a heavy barrel.

Is the sulfur content high? Heavy crudes typically carry more sulfur than light grades. The assay states the figure for each cargo, and the buyer’s desulfurisation capacity is part of the matching process.

Request an offer

Send the discharge port, the volume and the refinery configuration, and the trading desk will return a specification, an indicative price and a loading window. For lighter grades, see light crude oil; for the full portfolio, see the product portfolio.

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