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[[Image:Heating_oil_tanker_truck.jpg|right|thumb|200px|A tanker truck refilling a residential heating oil customer's home]] '''Heating oil''' is used to [[fuel]] [[furnace]]s within buildings. Typically, delivery is by [[tanker truck]] to individual homes and commercial spaces, and the oil is stored in [[oil tanks]] in the [[basement]] or outside, next to the building. Leaks in older facilities are an environmental concern because even a small leak can cause significant groundwater pollution, rendering the [[water]] from wells and springs unusable because chemicals from the oil are harmful to both humans and animals. Heating oil is usually [[dye|dyed]] to distinguish it from taxed vehicle fuel (as using untaxed fuels with dye, or mixtures of such, is illegal and, since such fuels are not intended for internal combustion engines, can damage the environment).
Heating oil, also known as ''No. 2 fuel oil'', accounts for about 25% of the yield of a barrel of [[crude oil]], the second-largest "cut" after gasoline. <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nymex.com/ho_pre_agree.aspx| title=NYMEX.com: Heating Oil|date=[[2006]]|accessdate=2006-12-21}}</ref>
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==Market info==
Among distillate fuels, the trend in recent years has seen the proportional demand for heating oil decreasing, as usage of [[liquified petroleum gas]] (LPG) has increased.
<ref>{{Cite book| url=http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FPetroleum-Refining-Technology-Economics-Fifth%2Fdp%2F0849370388%2Fsr%3D8-3%2Fqid%3D1166735153%3Fie%3DUTF8%26s%3Dbooks&tag=omnimediaguid-20&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=9325| title=Petroleum Refining: Technology and Economics | publisher=Marcel Dekker| pages=19/488| format=hardcover| accessdate=2006-12-21}}</ref>
Heating oil futures contracts trade in units of 42,000 gallons, which is the equivalent of 1,000 barrels. Prices are based on delivery in [[Directory:New York, New York|New York City]] harbor, the principal cash market trading center. The heating oil futures contract is also used to hedge diesel fuel and jet fuel, both of which trade in the cash market at an often stable premium to heating oil futures.
Businesses operating in the heating oil sector will identify themselves by the following 5-digit [[NAICS]] codes:
* '''[[NAICS_Code1::45431]]''' - Heating oil dealers, direct selling
* '''[[NAICS_Code2::32411]]''' - Heating oils made in petroleum refineries
==References==
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==See also==
*[[Heating Oil Dealers]]
[[Category:Chemical compounds]]
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[[Keyword::Heating oil]]
[[Keyword::Fuel]]
[[Keyword::Residential heating]]
[[Keyword::Home heating]]
[[Keyword::Distillate fuels]]
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