Crude Oil Classification

      

Paraffinic based crude oils contain paraffin wax but very little bituminous matter.  Their carbon atoms are connected by a single bond and the other bonds are saturated with hydrogen atoms. 

Naphthenic based crude oils contain a predominance of naphthenes (5 or 6 carbon atoms in a ring).  All the available bonds of the carbon atoms are saturated with hydrogen.

Asphaltic based crude oils, also termed “aromatic”, have dense hydrocarbons (mostly carbon) with a benzene ring which is unsaturated but very stable