Lets discuss Processing / Refining :

Refining use to be a low cost operation until the OPEC

(Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) raised the
price.
Refining involves two major branches one is Separation
and the other is Conversion process.
In the past, refineries use to separate petroleum into
saleable components using distillation. After the
separation these crude products were Chemically treated
Or Heat treated.
This was done so that it could improve the quality of crude
product.
At some point in history the demand for gasoline
exceeded the supply of gasoline and therefore a new way
was found to generate more gasoline from the amount
available at the supply.
Refinery started using a method in which the application
of heat and pressure to Heavier unwanted fractions
caused the large molecules in these fractions to convert
into smaller ones, this occurred once the substance
reached the boiling range of gasoline.
This process was carried out in a pressure still and is now
known as cracking.
So basically, Cracking / Pyrolysis is a process which
involves the breakdown of large hydrocarbons molecule
into smaller molecules by heat or catalytic action, referred
to as Thermal Cracking or Catalytic Cracking. This is one of
the most important processes for the production of
gasoline.
Cracking produces a Superior gasoline because more
olefins and branched chain hydrocarbons are present in
the product produced by cracking compared to the original
run gasoline.
The cracking process improved even more when an active
catalyst was added during the cracking process, this is now
known as Catalytic cracking.
There are other chemical conversion processes other than
Cracking but these processes are carried out on a large but
lesser scale, these include alkylation, isomerization,
hydrogenation, polymerization, reforming and
dehydrogenation.
Refineries were originally batch units with cylindrical
under fired shell still which were operating as topping
units.
These units were continuously pumping oil through to
heaters known as pipe stills or tube stills.
After which the constituents were separated in a
continuous fractionating columns.
These continuous fractionating columns were responsible
for separating many fractions between gas and asphalt.
This process is now universally practiced.
The conversion process is meant to optimize yields, from
the primary separation process, into more saleable and
profitable products. Usually this applies to maximum yields
of gasoline.
It is possible to convert all the crude into gasoline since
this above mention method is mostly carried out to
produce gasoline. But it would be a very expensive
process.