Downstream Oil and Gas Production Industry

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The terms “upstream” and “downstream” in the oil and gas production industry refer to a company’s location in the supply chain. Companies in the oil and gas industry are usually divided into one of three groups: upstream, downstream, and midstream.

Some companies are considered to be “integrated” because, as the name suggests, they combine the functions of two or three of these streams.

Upstream oil and gas production processes are conducted by companies who identify, extract, or produce raw materials. Downstream oil and gas production companies are closer to the end-user or consumer. Downstream operations are oil and gas processes that occur after the production phase up to the point of sale.

This sector of the oil and gas industry—the final step in the production process—is represented by refiners of petroleum crude oil and natural gas processors, who bring usable products to end-users and consumers. They also engage in the marketing and distribution of crude oil and natural gas products.

Simply put, the downstream oil and gas market is anything that has to do with the post-production of crude oil and natural gas activities and many of the products that consumers use every day come directly from downstream production, including diesel, natural gas, gasoline, heating oil, lubricants, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, and propane.

Companies engaged in the downstream process include oil refineries, petroleum product distributors, petrochemical plants, natural gas distributors, and retail outlets. CECO Environmental commonly addresses the challenges of downstream oil and gas production with clean, safe, and efficient products and solutions within our CECO family of brands shown below.