catalyst composition comprising an activated carbon support the activated carbon support is suitably a lignite based carbon commercially available from american norite company inc jacksonville fla particularly preferred carbons are high pore volume large pore diameter carbons such as darco the darco carbon has a bulk density of about 0 42 g cc a surface area of about 625 m 2 g or 263 m 2 cc a pore volume of about 1 0 cc g or 0 42 cc cc and an average pore diameter of about 64 u00e5 the percent vanadium on the carbon in the finished catalyst is suitably about 5 to 50 percent by weight preferably about 5 to 25 percent after impregnating the support with the metal as exemplified below the catalyst is subjected to standard sulfiding at about atmospheric to 500 psia with about 2 to 15 percent h 2 s preferably about 10 percent by volume while raising the temperature from 200 u00b0 to 750 u00b0 f for a period of 4 hours to 24 hours this sulfiding activates the catalyst heavy arabian vacuum residuum was distilled to obtain the initial 0 33 wt lowest boiling fraction with a nominal boiling range of 950 u00b0 1300 u00b0 f and containing 4 00 wt sulfur and 29 wppm vanadium this petroleum fraction was hydrotreated in a.