A glossary of common terms and abbreviations used in the industry, with links to more in-depth articles on key words
R+M/2 - a measure of gasoline octane that attempts to capture both the measure of road octane and motor octane in one number
Rabi (crude) - a light, sweet crude grade produced in Gabon
Rack - the loading facility for tank trucks at a fuel terminal
Rack price - one of the key wholesale price points in the fuel supply chain
Rajasthan (crude) - a heavy, sweet crude grade produced in India
Ravva (crude) - a medium, sweet crude grade produced in India
RBOB - a common grade of gasoline produced by refiners in the US
RCC - (Resid cataliytic cracking) a variation of the FCC unit that is capable of taking heavier feedstock
Reactor - the part of a process unit where the chemical reaction takes place. In most processes this is a vessel designed specifically to house the reaction
Reactor vessel - the part of a process unit where the chemical reaction takes place. In most processes this is a vessel designed specifically to house the reaction
Recycle - unconverted feedstock coming out of a conversion unit that is fed back into the unit as feed to increase yield (at the expense of fresh feed throughput)
Reduced crude - the heaviest of the distillation cuts out of the atmospheric distillation tower
Refinery fuel - the fuel used within a refinery to feed furnaces and provide heat to process units
Refinery gas - the lightest hydrocarbon stream produced from refinery process units. It is typically comprised of methane and ethane, but can also have some propane or butane in it
Refinery gate - pricing point for crude oil or refined product as it enters or exits the refinery, as opposed to somewhere further upstream or downstream
Refining - a processing plant that converts crude oil into a mix of different finished petroleum products
Reformate - the primary output of the catalytic reformer
Reformer - refining process unit that upgrades low-octane heavy naphtha to make gasoline that meets minimum octane requirements
Reformulated gasoline - (RFG) the gasoline grade in the US required in many urban areas with poor air quality
Reid vapor pressure - (RVP) a measure of the volatility of a fuel, or the degree to which it vaporizes at a given temperature
Reliability - a measure of a refiner’s ability to keep the equipment available for use by maintaining mechanical integrity
Renewable diesel - (RD) a high-quality diesel blendstock made from vegetable or waste oils through a process employing hydrotreating or hydrocracking
Renewable fuels - fuels that are not produced from oil and gas or other fossil resources. Includes bio-fuels and e-fuels
Renewable fuels standard - (RFS) the regulation in the US mandating the use of renewable fuels (e.g., ethanol and biodiesel) in domestic fuel
Renewable identification number - (RIN) the credits that the US EPA uses to track and enforce compliance with the renewable fuels mandates set by the RFS in the US
Renewable power - power generated from renewable sources such as wind, tides, solar or hydro.
Renewable volume obligation - (RVO) the number of RINs that suppliers of gasoline and diesel in the US must acquire and submit under the RFS regulation
Research octane number - (RON) one of the two primary measures of the octane value of gasoline or a gasoline blendstock
Resid - a very broad term used to refer to a range of intermediate streams and finished petroleum products
Resid cat cracking - (RCC) a variation of the FCC unit that is capable of taking heavier feed. The RCC takes atmospheric resid and VGO and cracks them using heat in the presence of a catalyst
Resid gasifier - A refinery process unit that converts resid into a gas that can be used as fuel
Resid hydrocracker - a refinery process unit that upgrades vacuum resid through cracking while injecting hydrogen
Resid hydrotreater - (RHT) a refinery process unit that is used to lower the sulfur content of resid streams
Residual fuel oil - (RFO) one of the lowest-value petroleum products from a refinery. It is essentially a byproduct of producing the light products that are the primary focus of a refinery
Residue - a very broad term used to refer to a range of intermediate streams and finished petroleum products
Retail price - the price that consumers actually see and pay when purchasing fuel at a retail station
RFG - (Reformulated gasoline) the gasoline grade in the US required in many urban areas with poor air quality
RFS - (Renewable fuels standard) the regulation in the US mandating the use of renewable fuels (e.g., ethanol and biodiesel) in domestic fuel
Rheniforming - a type of reformer, the refining process unit that upgrades low-octane heavy naphtha to make gasoline that meets minimum octane requirements
RIN - (Renewable identfication number) the credits that the US EPA uses to track and enforce compliance with the renewable fuels mandates set by the RFS in the US
Road oil - the densest liquid refined product produced by a refinery, but only stays liquid if stored and transported heated. It becomes a solid if allowed to cool to normal ambient temperatures
RON - (Research octane number) one of the two primary measures of the octane value of gasoline or a gasoline blendstock
Roncador (crude) - a heavy, sour crude grade produced in Brazil
ROSE unit - a refinery process unit that removes asphaltenes from vacuum resid, producing an asphalt product and a resid that can be used for base oil manufacturing or cracker feedstock
RVO - (Renewable volume obligation) the obligation a refiner or blender of gasoline and diesel in the US has to provide RINs as part of the Renewable Fuel Standard regulation
RVP - (Reid vapor pressure) a measure of the volatility of a fuel, or the degree to which it vaporizes at a given temperature
RVPI - (Vapor pressure index) index is used to calculate the vapor pressure of a gasoline blend comprised of blendstocks that have different vapor pressures