Density is a scalar physical quantity defined as the ratio of the mass of a body to the volume occupied by that body or as the derivative of mass by volume. Translated into ordinary language, it is the weight of oil in one cubic meter.
Density is an important indicator of the quality of crude oil. The heavier the oil, the more heavy components it contains, and accordingly, obtaining finished petroleum products from which will require higher temperatures and deep cracking. Conversely, the lighter the crude oil, the less high temperatures will be required to produce petroleum products.
Oil density (volumetric mass) varies between 730-1040 kg/m³. In practice, for its measurement, the units of grams per cubic centimeter (g/cm³) are more often used and, accordingly, the density of oil varies within the range of 0.730-1.040 g/cm³. The most common values of oil density are 0.82-0.90 g/cm³.
Several classes of crude oil are distinguished by density:
- super light – up to 0.78 g/cm³
- extra light – 0.78-0.82 g/cm³
- light – 0.82-0.87 g/cm³
- medium – 0.87-0.92 g/cm³
- heavy – 0,92-1 g/cm³
- extra heavy – more than 1 g/cm³
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