Patent ID: 7476309

Claim:
A method for hydroprocessing a heavy hydrocarbon oil, comprising bringing a heavy hydrocarbon oil having at least 70 wt % vacuum residue which boils above 538° C. into contact with hydroprocessing catalyst I in the presence of hydrogen in a first stage, after which the effluent of the first stage is contacted in whole or in part with hydroprocessing catalyst II in the presence of hydrogen in a second stage, wherein catalyst I comprises 7 to 20 wt. % of a Group VIB metal component, calculated as trioxide on the weight of the catalyst, and 0.5 to 6 wt. % of a Group VII metal component, calculated as oxide on the weight of the catalyst, on a porous inorganic carrier, said catalyst having a specific surface area of at least 100 m 2 /g, a total pore volume of at least 0.55 ml/g, and a pore size distribution for inhibiting sediment formation and promoting asphaltene removal, such that at least 50% of the total pore volume in pores with a diameter of at least 20 nm (200 Å), 10-30% of the total pore volume in pores with a diameter of at least 200 nm (2000 Å), less than 85% of the total pore volume in pores with a diameter of 10-120 nm (100-1200 Å), less than 0.2 ml/g of total pore volume in pores with a diameter of 50-150 nm (500-1500 Å), and less than 25% of the total pore volume in pores with a diameter of 10 nm (100 Å) or less, and catalyst II comprises 7 to 20 wt. % of a Group VIB metal component, calculated as trioxide on the weight of the catalyst, and 0.5 to 6 wt. % of a Group VIII metal component, calculated as oxide on the weight of the catalyst, on a porous inorganic carrier, said catalyst having a specific surface area of at least 100 m 2 /g, a total pore volume of at least 0.55 ml/g, and a pore size distribution for providing catalytic activity and inhibiting sediment, such that at least 75% of the total pore volume in pores with a diameter of 10-120 nm (100-1200 Å), 0-2% of the total pore volume in pores with a diameter of at least 400 nm (4000 Å), 0-1% of the total pore volume in pores with a diameter of at least 1000 nm (10000 Å), and less than 25% of the total pore volume in pores with a diameter of 10 nm (100 Å) or less.