• Main menu
  • Main content
  • Footer
TotalEnergies - Go to the home page TotalEnergies - Go to the home page
  • Contact Contact
  • Our presence in the world Our presence in the world
  • Where results are available, use the up and down arrows to navigate the list and use the enter key to make a choice.
  • Choose the interface language

    • EnglishEN
    • FrançaisFR
  • Our Company
    • Our Identity
      • Our History
      • Our Governance
      • Our ethics policy
    • Our strength
      • Our employees
      • Research & Development
      • Our integrated business model
      • Our geographic roots
      • Our sports partnerships
    • Transforming
      • Our ambition
        • Being a world-class player in the energy transition
        • Net zero in 2050, together with society
      • Our multi-energy offer
        • Renewable electricity
        • Natural gas
        • Petroleum products
        • Promoting circular management of resources
    • Our expertise
      • Explore and produce
        • Oil & Gas
        • Renewable energies
        • Bioenergies
      • Transform and develop
        • Electricity
        • Refining & petrochemical
        • Polymers
        • Specialty chemicals
      • Ship and market
        • Trading & shipping
        • Products & services
      • Projects and achievements
  • Sustainability
    • Climate and sustainable energy
      • Climate change-related challenges
      • Reducing our Scope 1 and 2 emissions
      • Reducing scope 3 emissions, together with society
    • People’s well-being
      • Health and safety for everyone
      • To commit to its employees
      • Human rights
    • BREAK N-2
    • Care for the Environment
      • Environmental challenges
    • Creating shared value
      • Business ethics
      • Value creation for host regions
      • Supply chain
      • The Fondation TotalEnergies
    • BREAK
    • Stakeholder relationships & Advocacy
      • Our sustainability approach
      • Our Governance
      • Stakeholder relationships
      • Advocacy
    • Reports and indicators
      • Our CSR Reports
      • Challenges identification
      • Vigilance plan
      • Reporting standards
      • The main ESG ratings
      • Indicators
  • Customers
    • Businesses
      • Aviation
      • Additives and special fuels
      • Batteries
      • Bitumen
      • Fuels
      • Heating
      • Specialty chemicals
      • Energy efficiency
      • BREAK N-2
      • Special fluids
      • Natural gas and power
      • Gas mobility
      • Mobility
      • Lubricants
      • Marine
      • Polymers
      • Solar energy
    • Consumers
      • Private aviation
      • Home heating
      • Natural gas and power
      • Solar solutions
      • Service stations
      • Car wash
    La Défense service station in Paris, France.
    Find a location
  • Investors
    • Why invest in TotalEnergies?
    • Results and Investor presentations
      • Results
      • Investor presentations
      • Main Indicators
    • BREAK N-2
    • Shares and dividends
      • Dividends
      • TotalEnergies Shares
      • Share Ownership Structure
    • Annual Shareholders' meetings
    • BREAK N-2
    • Individual shareholders
      • Becoming a shareholder
      • Being a TotalEnergies Shareholder
      • A dedicated team, a Quality Charter
      • Shareholder publications
      • Shareholders' Events
      • Shareholders' Clubs
      • e-Advisory Committee
      • Employee shareholders
    • BREAK N-2
    • Publications and regulated information
      • Reports and Publications
      • Press Releases
      • Regulated Information
      • Other information
    • Investors contacts
    Agenda TotalEnergies
    Calendar
    Any questions?
  • Jobseekers
    • Apply
      • Your opportunities
      • Our Latest Offers
    • BREAK N-2
    • Our Employees: The Energy that Drives Us Forward
    • BREAK N-2
    Apply
  • Media
    • News
      • Our Press Releases
      • Our Latest News
      • Our Special Features
    • BREAK N-2
    • Media Library
      • Online media
      • Educational infographics
    • BREAK N-2
    • Calendar
    • Biographies
    • Social Media
    • Publications
    • Press Contacts
  • Contact Contact
  • Our presence in the world Our presence in the world
  • Where results are available, use the up and down arrows to navigate the list and use the enter key to make a choice.
  • Choose the interface language

    • EnglishEN
    • FrançaisFR
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. From Well to Pump

From Well to Pump

From well to wheel
From well to wheel
From well to wheel Total
  • A | Extraction
  • B | Transportation to
    the refinery
  • C | Refining
  • D | Transportation to the
    depot and improvement
  • E | Transportation to
    the service station
Scroll down

Slide down the animation by clicking on the arrow Scroll down or on the titles ABCDE

See additional information , photos and how oil is extracted

Slide down the animation and see additional information , photos , and how oil is extracted

Underground Oil drops
Pipeline Oil drops Oil drops
Pipeline Oil drops Oil drops
2

Whether the reservoir is onshore or offshore, the process is the same: once oil and gas has been discovered, the first step is to drill wells. Then a production platform is built.

1

Oil and gas reservoirs are usually buried in deep geological formations that are difficult to reach and explore.

Offshore platform Onshore platform
  • Onshore drilling rig in Fort Worth, Texas in the United States.

    Onshore drilling rig in Fort Worth, Texas in the United States
  • Onshore drilling rig in Fort Worth, Texas in the United States.

    Onshore drilling rig in Fort Worth, Texas in the United States
  • Offshore platform in Indonesia

    Offshore platform in Indonesia
  • Offshore platform in Indonesia

    Offshore platform in Indonesia
  • Offshore platform in Indonesia

    Offshore platform in Indonesia
Boat
tank
tank
tank
3

Oil extracted onshore is piped to a refinery.

4

Oil produced offshore is first stored on site, then carried by ship or pipeline to a plant for refining.

5

Refining converts crude oil into marketable products, such as gasoline, diesel and LPG for automobiles, jet fuel for aviation, home heating oil, and asphalt for roads.

tank tank tank
tank tank tank tank tank
  • Antwerp refinery in Belgium

    Antwerp refinery in Belgium
  • Antwerp refinery in Belgium

    Antwerp refinery in Belgium
  • Antwerp refinery in Belgium

    Antwerp refinery in Belgium
6

The oil is heated in a furnace then sent to a distillation column. The difference in boiling points of the various components allows light cuts such as LPG and gasoline, middle distillates such as diesel, and heavy fractions such as heating oil to be collected from top to bottom of the column.

7

More heavy than light products are usually obtained, which is out of sync with market demand. So the heavy oil and gas molecules are cracked to obtain lighter products such as diesel, which is in very high demand in Europe.

8

The various refined products are then improved to meet regulatory standards, as well as lower their environmental impact. Sulfur is removed during this step, for example.

Total truck Arbre biofuels Roof tank tank tank tank
9

The end products are then transported from the refinery to a depot by tank truck, train, pipeline or ship.

10

At the depot, performance-enhancing additives are blended into fuels bound for Total service stations. Our additives are what set us apart in terms of fuel quality and performance, by increasing vehicle fuel efficiency and reducing carbon emissions.

11

Depots are also where biofuels are blended into conventional fuels when regulations allow or require this. The same step is carried out right at the refinery in the case of diesel.

Total truck Green car Station service Pink car Blue car Yellow car Trees
Station tank
12

The fuels are now ready to be used by vehicles. They are loaded into tank trucks that will directly supply service stations nearby.

13

At the station, the truck transfers the fuels to underground storage tanks that connect directly to the fuel pumps. You can now fill up your tank!

  • Aurach service station in Germany.

    Aurach service station in Germany
  • Las Piñas service station in Manila.

    Las Piñas service station in Manila
Watch again
Share this content
  • E-mail
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Linkedin

To read on TotalEnergies.com

  • Our worldwide presence
  • Oil and Gas: Our Exploration and Production Operations
  • Our transportation solutions
  • Contact
  • General Terms and Conditions of Use
  • Personal data charter, cookies and tracers
  • Accessibility : partially compliant
  • Sitemap
  • © 2023 TotalEnergies

Follow us