The meeting agenda was distributed to those in attendance. There were 52 attendees of which 17 paid the attendance fee.

Notes for the Chevron Texaco and Ondeo NES presentation on High Acid Crudes will be issued separately.

Legal Review of Anti-Trust - Harry Giles, COQA Facilitator, reminded all attendees to review the Standard Setting Rules prior to each meeting. The Standard Setting Rules can be found on coqa-inc.org.

Deepwater Gulf of Mexico Crude Streams – Mr. Dave Bailey of BP presented information on Southern Green Canyon crude, a blend of three fields located in the southeastern section on the deepwater Green Canyon area. Owners are BP (operator), BHP, Shell and Unocal. Production is slated to begin in 2004 and will eventually reach several hundred thousand barrels per day. Southern Green Canyon (SGC) crude will be available from points in Texas City and Port Arthur. SGC is a medium sour crude, similar to Mars. It is predicted that SGC will yield heavy naphtha, good quality feedstock for jet fuel, high yields of vacuum gas oil, and good cat naphtha and cat distillate.

DEEPWATER GULF OF MEXICO - BP  - View this Document**
**(Requires free Adobe Acrobat Reader)

How to Update an Old Assay – Mr. David Alexander of Haverly Systems introduced us to Haverly’s new "Flash Assay Tool". TBP Distillation (ASTM D2892) is the approved methodology for determining the hydrocarbon distribution of any given crude. High Temperature Simulated Distillation (HTSD) is a proposed method that is generally quicker and cheaper to run. Although the two methods each provide distillation data, the results do not compare consistently. The Flash Assay Tool takes HTSD yields, and other whole-crude property characteristics, and balances the new data to update an existing, usually old TBP. The adjusted assay can then be used to make quick decisions on purchasing and running crude and also indicates when a new, complete assay is necessary. David showed several examples where the Flash Assay Tool was used to update an old assay and the resultant adjusted yields and properties were compared to a new TBP. The results were very consistent.

HOW TO UPDATE AN OLD ASSAY - HAVERLY - View this Document****
**(Requires free Adobe Acrobat Reader)

The Assay Simulator - Mr. Ward Davis of HPI Consultants presented a method to update assays, using monitoring data. The Assay Simulator is a program built to predict crude cut properties based on hundreds of existing assays, modeled with neural net software. Models for the prediction are built around a "family" delineation (many assays of crudes with similar properties) or on a "world" representation (using a base assay statistically updated during the running of the model). The Assay Simulator provides assay-type information from limited data much more quickly than a full run TBP. The Assay Simulator can be used to indicate the true value of crude by, for example, running basic tests on a delivery sample and using those results to check the consistency of the crude with the expected parameters. The Assay Simulator uses basic Excel functions so it is not necessary to be computer savvy. Also, it delivers answers quickly thereby saving time when making purchasing or refining decisions.

THE ASSAY SIMULATOR - HPI  - View this Document****
**(Requires free Adobe Acrobat Reader)

Online Crude Oil Assays – Mr. John van Schaik of Energy Intelligence, publishers of Oil Daily and PIW, was seeking the degree of interest in a web-based assay sharing slate. Energy Intelligence plans to put its assay database out on its web site, will step up efforts to collect new assays and invites the industry to contribute new assays to the database. Although many oil companies have their own assay program and might not benefit from a shared database, electronic assay data could be useful to the right participants. Some suggestions were a gathering place for assay data already on the web (i.e. from producers), smaller oil companies who might not have the resources to do extensive assay work on their own, or a non-technical database geared toward, for example, traders. Interested parties may contact John at JVSchaik@EnergyIntel.com.

Canadian Crude Quality Initiatives – Mr. Bruce Kennedy of Petro-Canada represented the Canadian Crude Quality Technical Association. Phosphorous has been found at another Canadian refiner. CAPP (the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers) has been requested to cooperate in implementing a 3ppm phosphorous specification in crude oil. Data are being collected and reviewed on solids in crude and desalting. A new project has been initiated to develop a more accurate method to measure cracked material in crude.

Status on Pipeline Quality Initiatives – Changes to the Capline LLS specification program have been approved and were noted by Ms. Patti Edens of Shell Pipeline.

• A sample retention program was started in January 2003. One-quart samples will be taken of all receipts and deliveries on the Capline system at St. James, Liberty, Collierville and Patoka and retained for 45 days.

• The API gravity of all batches will be tested at St. James. The sulfur content of all batches will be tested at the third party laboratory. If the tests at St. James or the third party indicate that a batch does not meet specifications, the Operator will request the third party laboratory to test the sample from that specific batch.
• Effective March 1, 2003, the Micro Carbon Residue Test (MCRT) specification will be lowered from 2.5 to 2.0 %w.
• All deliveries of LLS to Capline St. James are being tested for Total Acid Number to establish a spec.
• Effective February 1, 2003, random batch sampling frequency will be increased from 15% to 30%.

Report on the Trading Subcommittee – The Trading Subcommittee discussed education and communication of crude quality issues to the oil industry at large. Mr. Rick Barrett of Shell Pipeline summarized that discussion. We will need to utilize several avenues to communicate our quality goals throughout the industry. A document outlining our crude quality curriculum is available. Please contact the facilitator.

For your information – the Communication Task Force consists of:

Larry Kremer, Baker Petrolite (Larry.Kremer@BakerPetrolite.com)

Many thanks to our 2003 Financial Supporters

Associate Members:

Funding members

BP Amoco, BHP Petroleum, Conoco Phillips, Gary Williams, LOOP, Marathon Ashland, Navajo, NCRA, Shell Pipeline

Please review past minutes, our Retrospective Review and Mission Statement and a complete membership listing (name, company, email, phone) on coqa-inc.org. All members are encouraged to take advantage of our forum page.

Next Meeting - The next meeting will be held in Houston on May 29, 2003.