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Summary Details on the meeting presentation can be found on coqa-inc.org or by contacting the COQA facilitator, Harry Giles, at dir.coqa@verizon.net. Mr.
Dean Trierwiler of Haverly showed us their Crude
Oil Scheduling Decision Technology. Haverly
has been providing optimization systems since 1962.
Currently, one of their major focuses is refinery and crude supply
planning and scheduling. The
scheduling model uses existing technology such as GANTT charts and Excel
spreadsheets but the software
is designed expressly for individual customers.
Specific business rules and logistical events, the scope of
scheduling to be covered, logic standards, etc. are established with each
customer. Dean shared two
examples of the customized tool that is developed as a result of this
extensive research. The
examples highlighted the ability of the Scheduling Module to predict the
characteristics of a crude after tank and line mixing, and how that
prediction can be utilized with Haverly’s other software to estimate
assay-quality information, suitable for LP modeling. Haverly Oil Scheduling Module - View
this Document** **(Requires free Adobe Acrobat Reader) Corrosion by High Acid Crudes
was presented by Dr. Saaledine Tebbal of SET Laboratories, Inc.
The results of corrosivity testing on several different crudes were
analyzed to determine which technique or combination of techniques best
predict high temperature corrosivity.
For example, Electrospray – Mass Spectrometry analyses were shown
to increase the reliability in the determination of naphthenic acid
content when compared to only utilizing the more typical methods.
These types of analyses are also very useful in predicting where
the acids are concentrating in the distillation unit.
Another predictive tool is the hydrogen sulfide evolution.
Research is still needed to confidently predict the degree of
corrosion but these new analyses, which require only a 100ml sample, yield
more replicable results when evaluating the feasibility of running
opportunity crudes. Corrosion by High Acid Crudes - SET Laboratories - View
this Document**** Aaron Dillard introduced the paper “Crude Oil Contaminants and Adverse Chemical Components and Their Effect on Crude Oil Quality”. This paper currently contains information on Organic Chlorides, Vanadium, Iron, Basic Nitrogen, Naphthenic Acid, Phenolic Compounds and Zinc. Origins, problems, testing methods, desired levels are discussed for each contaminant / chemical component. The paper is posted on coqa-inc.org. It is the intent of the COQA to add to this informational document with more extensive details on the named substances and with new substances that other members have found to be problem causing. Please contact the COQA Director at dir.coqa@verizon.net with your comments. ·
Phosphorous continues to be a
concern at several refineries. The
new CAPP (Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers) technical committee
proposes to limit phosphorous in crude by issuing a Best Practices
document urging member
companies to employ available technology to eliminate volatile phosphorous
in the mixed blend sweet
stream. ·
Work on isolating and identifying
unknown organic sediment is continuing.
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TAN and ·
Best Practices were presented to
the members of the tank cleaning project. A
proposal was made to continue this project and monitor actual
tank-cleaning batches and their impact on final destination refineries. · Enbridge Pipeline and CAPP are negotiating a tolling agreement with quality incentives, specifically regarding degradation management. · The first shipment of consolidated like-streams is planned for the end of this year. This should improve the consistency of the aggregate stream with larger batches leading to less degradation. · A tank surcharge program has gained acceptance. This will also encourage larger batches and help reduce degradation. · Enbridge Pipeline has recommended a better-defined process for approving new crude oil streams. · The CAPP Crude Oil Committee has formed a working group to specifically focus on quality issues. The group will first address phosphorous in crude and olefin testing, both proposed by the CCQTA. Bruce Kennedy (CCQTA/Petro-Canada) posed two questions to the group: First Question: What are refiners doing in the way of routine
analysis to protect against receiving crudes with specific problems? Particularly
marine receipts, but could apply to pipelines as well. Specifically: 2. H2S - Some Mediterranean crudes have
exceedingly high levels of H2S - 2,000 to 4,000 ppm.
These levels not only are a significant concern to marine crews’
safety, but are also too high for offloading ports to accept. The
crude can be treated with H2S scavenger chemistry, but this has to be
done at sea after the issue has been identified. 3. Chemicals used in production vary in
different parts of the world and may end up in crude. A
database of "crudes and chemistries of concern" needs to be
established to help refiners identify and mitigate potential
contamination. Second question: Is anyone aware of any field treatment of
crude to reduce or remove metals - specifically nickel and vanadium? Petro-Canada has an interest a crude
which has elevated nickel and is researching ways to reduce it in the
field. Report on the Water Measurement
Subcommittee – At our last
meeting, Harry Giles of the US DOE presented data from the ASTM crosscheck
on water measurement. He was
requested at that time to investigate the possibility that the reliability
of a Karl Fischer test versus a distillation test method is crude
dependent. Harry looked into
this issue and found no correlation between crude type and water test
method. ConocoPhillips
and the US DOE are collaborating on a study to determine if there is any
correlation between BS&W by centrifuge and water by Karl Fischer
combined with sediment by extraction.
Harry will look at the ASTM crosscheck for both water and sediment
data to use in the correlation study. Report on the Communication Forum – The Education Forum for pipeline personnel is available at coqa-inc.org. A draft version of the program for refining personnel was discussed in the morning meeting. Several excellent changes were made. The revised draft is available from the COQA Director. The COQA Director and Larry Kremer of Baker Petrolite presented a modified version of the Education Forum for pipeline professionals at the NPRA National Convention in March. Many thanks to Larry for volunteering to help and also to Jeff Hazle of the NPRA for suggesting our forum as a possible presentation. Report from the COQA Steering Committee - A listing of websites that have crude quality data has been posted on coqa-inc.org. Also posted is a summary of the COQA Crude Oil Incident Tracking Forms. Additions to either posting are welcome, please contact the COQA Director. COQA Web Site and Budget Report - The facilitator presented the financial report for the first four months of 2004. Many thanks to our 2004 Financial Supporters:
Associate Members: BakerPetrolite, Giant Refining, Intertek Testing
Services, Nalco Energy Services, Saybolt / Core Labs, Funding members: BP, Conoco Phillips, Gary Williams, LOOP, Marathon Ashland, Navajo, NCRA, Shell Pipeline, Sun Oil Company Please review past minutes (with detailed attachments), our Retrospective Review and Mission Statement and a complete membership listing (name, company, email, and 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 Harry Giles, COQA Director
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