Because crude oil is of little use or value in its natural state, it must be separated out into other products. The first unit used to separate crude oil is the crude unit. This unit can separate crude oil into heavy or light fractions that can either be sent to other processing facilities or directly to end users. It can also be further refined into lighter, more valuable petroleum products such as gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel.

The Crude Unit training course describes the unit and its main components. It also identifies and discusses the process of crude oil distillation. This course is part of the Refinery Operations training series.