Flexible benzene production via selective-higher-olefin oligomerization of ethylene

A method comprising:

• contacting, in an oligomerization process, ethylene with a selective-higher-olefin catalyst to yield an oligomerization reactor effluent comprising C6 hydrocarbons which include 1-hexene and C8 hydrocarbons which include 1-octene;
• recovering 1-hexene and 1-octene from the oligomerization reactor effluent;
• contacting, in a hydrotreating process, 1-hexene, 1-octene, or both 1-hexene and 1-octene recovered from the oligomerization reactor effluent with a hydrogenation catalyst to yield an aromatization feed comprising hexane, octane, or both;
• and
• contacting, in an aromatization process, the aromatization feed with an aromatization catalyst to yield an aromatization effluent comprising benzene.