Light Cycle Oil
Light cycle oil is a middle distillate from a refinery's catalytic cracker. It is too aromatic to sell as diesel, so it trades as a blending component and as feedstock.
A component, not a finished fuel
Fluid catalytic cracking breaks heavy gasoil into gasoline. The diesel-range stream left over is light cycle oil: dense, rich in aromatics and low in cetane.
Refiners hydrotreat it to make diesel. Blenders use it to lower the viscosity of fuel oil and to produce heating oil and marine fuels.
- Product type
- Cracked middle distillate, a refinery intermediate
- Governing standards
- No international standard; sold on an agreed specification
- Sold by
- The metric ton or the barrel
- Typical buyers
- Refiners, fuel blenders and marine fuel suppliers
- Carried in
- Product tankers
What buyers specify
| Property | Reference | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Density at 15 °C | Commonly 900 to 960 kg/m³ | Much denser than diesel. A quick indicator of aromatic content. |
| Sulfur | Varies with the crude and the unit; stated in the contract | Decides how much treatment or blending the buyer must do. |
| Cetane index | Commonly 15 to 30 | Too low for road diesel without upgrading. |
| Flash point | Stated in the contract, commonly above 55 °C | A safety limit for storage and handling. |
| Distillation range | Roughly 200 °C to 370 °C | Places it in the diesel boiling range. |
Ranges are typical of traded material, given for orientation. The specification written into the sales contract governs.
How it is sold
Untreated light cycle oil
Straight from the cracker, for refiners and blenders able to upgrade it.
Hydrotreated light cycle oil
Lower in sulfur after treatment, and easier to place in distillate blends.
Cutter stock
Light cycle oil sold to thin heavy fuel oil to a target viscosity.
Storage and shipping
- Cargo sizes. Medium-range product tankers carrying roughly 30,000 to 40,000 tonnes are the usual parcel.
- Segregation. Kept apart from finished diesel so that its aromatics and sulfur do not contaminate clean grades.
- Inspection. An independent inspector normally samples and certifies the parcel at the loading port.
Storage and transport are provided by third-party terminal operators and carriers. We coordinate them. How storage and shipping are arranged
What to send with your enquiry
- Intended use: upgrading, blending or cutter stock
- Maximum sulfur and density
- Quantity in tonnes and how often you need it
- Destination port or terminal and preferred Incoterm
- Delivery window
Send these details and we will tell you whether we can source the product and on what terms. Price, quantity and specification are fixed in the sales contract.