Vacuum Gas Oil Market: By Product Type (Heavy Vacuum Gas Oil and Light Vacuum Gas Oil), By Sulfur content (Low Sulfur VGO and High Sulfur VGO), By Application (Gasoline Production and Diesel Oil/Kerosene Production), and Geography

Vacuum Gas Oil Market size was valued at USD 398.6 billion in 2023 and is poised to grow at a CAGR of 5.7% from 2024-2030. The VGO or vacuum gas oil fits the petroleum hydrocarbon, a part of the heavy distillate family. Vacuum gas oil is also called cat feed because it is used as a feedstock to generate gasoline, gasoil, and other by-products. VGO is one of the products in the vacuum distillation tower (with the vacuum reside) and is the lighter substance between them. The primary usage for vacuum gas oil is in cracking units in the form of feed, like the hydrocracker or the fluid catalytic cracker. These cracking units promote the vacuum gas oil into the goods having more significant value, such as diesel and gasoline. If the vacuum gas oil is not advanced, then it merges into residual fuel oil. However, this is relatively infrequent as the cost of vacuum gas oil is much more significant in the form of feed for the aim of upgrading. Vacuum gas oil contains hydrocarbon material, which is heftier than diesel. The usage of vacuum gas oil in diesel production can lead to the vacuum gas oil market growth. Moreover, the increasing demand for vacuum gas oil in bunker fuel and development in marine exploration and sea trade are some primary factors that can boost the global vacuum gas oil market growth. Apart from these, the increase in funding for research and development in hydrocracking and the fluid catalytic cracking procedure assists in gaining sound output from these processes, which can also accelerate the market in the future. However, some factors, such as the non-compatibility of vacuum gas oil as compared to other fuels can restrain the growth of the market. Moreover, the increase in technological advancements and industrialization is an emerging trend in the market.  

The Vacuum Gas Oil Market Key Developments:

• In January 2020, Swedish refiner Preem AB, an entirely owned subsidiary of Corral Petroleum Holdings AB, restarted the bulk of operations 228,900 barrels/day at its refinery at Lysekil.
• In March 2022, Honeywell announced that SPEC Energy DMCC would utilize a range of Honeywell UOP process technologies at its refinery to alter low value vacuum gasoil and vacuum residue into high value products such as gasoline and alkylate.