Production of highly aromatic extract oil

Claim 1

A process comprising (a) passing a topped crude stream to a first catalytic cracking zone wherein said stream is subjected to catalytic cracking to produce an effluent of cracked products; (b) passing the effluent obtained in step (a) to a first fractionation zone wherein the cracked products from the first catalytic cracking zone are separated into separate distillate fractions comprising light hydrocarbons, gasoline, light cycle oil, heavy cycle oil and a catalyst-containing bottoms product; (c) passing a substantial portion of said heavy cycle oil obtained in step (b) to a second fractionation zone; (d) passing a gas oil stream to a second catalytic cracking zone wherein said gas oil stream is subjected to catalytic cracking to produce an effluent of cracked products; (e) passing the effluent obtained in step (d) to said second fractionation zone wherein the cracked products from the second catalytic cracking zone and the heavy cycle oil from step (b) are separated into separate distillate fractions comprising light hydrocarbons, gasoline, light cycle oil, heavy cycle oil and a catalyst-containing bottoms product; and (f) passing said heavy cycle oil obtained in step (e) to a solvent extraction zone wherein the oil is separated into an aromatics-containing extract phase and into a paraffin-containing raffinate phase.