Al Iraqia Shipping Services & Oil Trading Dubai

The primary use of Bitumen or Asphalt is for road construction. Iraqia is involved in the supply of Bitumen to its international customers, according to the required specifications. The production processes used are mainly fractional distillation, production for de-asphalting with a solvent in lubricant cycle refineries, thermal treatment of residuals. From a chemical-physical view point, bitumen are complex mixtures consisting of hydrocarbons and other organic compounds containing different atoms besides carbon, such sulfur, nitrogen, oxygen. Through fractionation processes it is possible to identify some chemical homogenous fractions with specific characteristics, to which ascribe certain properties of bitumen:

Resins, which perform a dispersing action in the asphalts in the oily body of bitumen and therefore, give it stability and elastic properties.  

Diesel fuel is generally a product of the primary distillation of crude oil and, until just a few years ago, its quality depended essentially on the characteristics of the crude itself and the type of distillation. In recent years there has been an increasing use of conversion plants, such as thermal and/or catalytic cracking or hydro-cracking, which, while remaining significant, has lessened the qualitative impact of the original crude base. The average distillation range for diesel is between 160°C and 380°C. Diesel fuel is largely used to drive internal combustion engines with spontaneous ignition or for combustion in plants for civil heating purposes.

Heavy crude oil or extra heavy crude oil is oil that is highly viscous and cannot easily flow to production wells under normal reservoir conditions. It is referred to as “heavy” because its density or specific gravity is higher than that of light crude oil. Heavy crude oil has been defined as any liquid petroleum with an API gravity less than 20°. Physical properties that differ between heavy crude oils and lighter grades include higher viscosity and specific gravity, as well as heavier molecular composition. In 2010, the World Energy Council defined extra heavy oil as crude oil having a gravity of less than 10° and a reservoir viscosity of no more than 10 000 centipoises. When reservoir viscosity measurements are not available, extra-heavy oil is considered by the WEC to have a lower limit of 4° (i.e. with the density greater than 1000 kg/m3 or, equivalently, a specific gravity greater than 1 and a reservoir viscosity of no more than 10, 000 centipoises. Heavy oils and asphalt are dense no aqueous phase liquids (DNAPLs). They have a low solubility and are with viscosity lower and density higher than water

LPG, or liquefied petroleum gas, is a mixture of hydrocarbons with gaseous qualities at atmospheric pressure and which liquefies at an environmental temperature and not very high pressure. LPG derives from the elaboration of natural gas and the refining of crude oil; it is also sold on the market as a blend (propane/butane) and as commercial propane and butane. LPG, as a blend of propane and butane, accounts for up to 5% of natural gas: it is normally separated immediately after extraction of crude gas, which is essentially made up of methane. The LPG that derives from the refining of oil is obtained from the first distillation of crude and from the reforming process, while lower quantities are obtained from conversion processes (catalytic cracking, hydrocracking, visbreaking). Like natural gas, LPG is an energy source with a low environmental impact which is mainly used in the residential and transport sectors. It is an “eco-compatible” fuel in that the presence of polluting substances and the greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere during combustion – both in residential and transport uses – is markedly inferior to that of traditional liquid fuels. In liquid form, LPG is easy to store, handle and transport in pressurised tanks, by rail or road, and made available for use cheaply at domestic and industrial sites or from the fuelling of vehicles. In the residential sector, these characteristics make it possible to store significant quantities of energy in small tanks, making the fuel easily available to users, also in places where the logistical or geographic characteristics make it difficult to supply other means of meeting energy requirements. In the transport sector, storage, in a liquid form at low pressure, in the small tanks of cars and vans, allows drivers to enjoy the same level of autonomy as for traditional vehicles, with very limited additional weight.  

Naphtha is a general term that has been used for over two thousand years to refer to flammable liquid hydrocarbon mixtures. Mixtures labeled naphtha have been produced from natural gas condensates, petroleum distillates, and the distillation of coal tar and peat. It is used differently in different industries and regions to refer to gross products like crude oil or refined products such as kerosene.