Systems and methods of producing a crude product

A method of producing a crude product, comprising:

• in a contacting zone, contacting a crude feed having an API gravity of at most 19 with a hydrogen source in the presence of one or more catalysts at a temperature from about 300° C. to 700° C. to produce a total product that includes the crude product, wherein the crude product is a liquid mixture at 25° C. and 0.101 MPa, at least one of the catalysts comprises one or more transition metal sulfides, and the crude feed has a residue content of at least 0.2 grams of residue per gram of crude feed, as determined by ASTM Method D5307;
• controlling contacting conditions such that the crude product has an API gravity at least 90% higher than the crude feed;
• and
• separating the total product from the contacting zone as a vapor while maintaining a volume of liquid in the contacting zone, where the volume of liquid maintained in the contacting zone is at least 10% of the volume of the contacting zone, and retaining solids and/or used catalyst in the contacting zone, wherein the vapor contains at least 0.8 grams of crude product per gram of crude feed, wherein the crude product is a liquid mixture at 25° C. and 0.101 MPa.