A process is provided to produce high cetane quality and low or preferably
ultra low sulfur diesel and a fluid catalytic cracker (FCC) quality
feedstock from a processing unit including at least a hydrotreating zone
and a hydrocracking zone. In one aspect, the processing unit includes
reactor severity requirements in both the hydrotreating zone and the
hydrocracking zone effective to produce the FCC feed quality and the
diesel sulfur quality to permit a high quality hydrocracked product to be
formed at lower pressures and conversion rates without overtreating the
FCC quality feedstock stream. In another aspect, a portion of the
hydrotreated effluent is selected for conversion in the hydrocracking and
the remaining portion of the hydrotreated effluent is directed to
subsequent processing, such as fluid catalytic cracking.