Hydrodesulfurization catalyst for hydrocarbon oil, process of producing same and method for hydrorefining

A hydrodesulfurization catalyst for a hydrocarbon oil comprising at least one type of metal component selected from Groups VIA and VIII in the periodic table, supported on a silica-titania-alumina support where the total of the diffraction peak area indicating the crystal structure of anatase titania (101) planes and the diffraction peak area indicating the crystal structure of rutile titania (110) planes is ¼ or less of the diffraction peak area indicating the aluminum crystal structure ascribed to γ-alumina (400) planes, as measured by X-ray diffraction analysis, the catalyst having (a) a specific surface area (SA) of 150 m2/g or greater, (b) a total pore volume (PVo) of 0.30 ml/g or greater, (c) an average pore diameter (PD) of 6 to 15 nm (60 to 150 Å), and (d) the ratio of the pore volume (PVp) of pores having diameters within ±30 percent of the average pore diameter (PD) being 70 percent or greater of the total pore volume (PVo),

• wherein said silica-titania-alumina support contains silica in the form of SiO2 in an amount of 1 to 10 percent by mass, titania in the form of TiO2 in an amount of 15 to 35 percent by mass, and alumina in the form of Al2O3 in an amount of 55 to 84 percent by mass, all on the support basis.