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A complete attendance listing is also available from the Director. Legal Review of Anti-Trust - Harry Giles, COQA Director, reminded all attendees to review the Standard Setting Rules prior to each meeting. The Standard Setting Rules can be found on coqa-inc.org under “Information”. Mr. Nick Lightfoot of Arizona Instruments
introduced the group to his company and their new method of Water Measurement. Arizona
Instruments has been in business since 1981 and has extensive experience
in moisture analyzers. Their
new Vapor Pro line correlates to Karl Fischer in precision and accuracy
but uses no toxic reagents. Volatiles
from the sample are carried by a dry carrier gas through the sensor block
containing the moisture-specific polymer capacitance sensor.
The instrument displays real time test results in ppm, micrograms,
percentage and graphs. Arizona
Instruments is currently undergoing the process necessary for
certification from ASTM/API. They
invite all COQA members to send in samples to their laboratory to develop
test parameters. You are also
invited to trial the instrument in your own facility.
Nick can be reached at nlightfoot@azic.com. Arizona Instruments - View
this Document** **(Requires free Adobe Acrobat Reader) John Mauer of Valero Energy Corporation led
an Open Discussion on the
Blending of Foreign Crude with Onshore Domestic Sweet Crude.
Such blending operations could lead to refinery problems due to the
presence of substances not normally found in the domestic sweet stream.
This is especially true considering the general lack of
specifications on such quality parameters as acidity.
Several other issues surrounding this topic
came to light: The COQA decided that enough interest was
generated to warrant further discussion in a smaller working group.
Therefore, a Crude Oil Storage Discussion - View
this Document****** Dr. Iraj Isaac Rahmim of E-Meta Venture, Inc. shared information on Consulting
and Training Services Available to the Petroleum Industry.
E-Meta Venture is based in Any of the sessions E-Meta Venture offers can
be customized to apply to, for example, specific production situations or
a targeted refining kit. For
more information, please contact Isaac at iir@e-metaventure.com. Consultant Services - View
this Document****** Silicon in
Crude Oil was presented by Larry Kremer of Baker Petrolite.
There are several terms for silicon: There are also surfactants and emulsion breakers that contain Silicon (Si). Test methods to determine the amount and specific type of silicon are very dependent on the sample preparation (injection, ashing, bomb digestions) and environment (reducing and oxidizing). Also complicating the testing efforts are the presence of filterable solids, water soluble silicates, and organo-silicon compounds. In most cases, although the level of Si can be fairly well determined, speciation is not practical. Baker Petrolite's test protocol includes definition of the Si species by solubility class, water washing to remove water soluble Si, filtering to remove particulate Si, direct injection and bomb digestion sample preparation and ICP detection methodology. Silicon in Crude Oil - View
this Document****** Testing for naphthenic acids is not a well documented process. TAN is not a good correlation. UOP 565 and 567 are not very sensitive and are not specific to naphthenic acids. Liquid Chromatographic extraction and Infrared Spectroscopic quantification are specific for naphthenic acids but the results are based on a generic calibration standard and cannot account for the different species of naphthenic acids that are present. Mass spectrometry can be very specific to naphthenic acids and yields a good profile of the species found. However, it is a difficult test with significant instrumentation required. Negative Ion Microelectrospray is a relatively new method that yields promising results with relatively easy preparation, but availability is limited. Solid Phase Extraction coupled with conventional GC-MS is a literature-referenced process that is specific to identifying and quantifying naphthenic acids from about C12 to C30. While some lighter naphthenic acids can be lost during sample prep, it is a solid compromise of selectivity, analysis speed, and cost. Intertek will continue their work in this area and Terry will update us when additional test results can be shared. Testing for Naphthenic Acids - View
this Document****** Methanol
in Crude using Near-Infrared (NIR) Analysis
was discussed by Mr. Jerry Evans of EVCO Consulting.
A set of washed crude samples with known amounts of methanol
injected was analyzed using an NIR analyzer designed by LT Industries.
The scanned results were used to create a chemometrics model.
The correlation of the model to the known methanol was much closer
than the results from a standard GC procedure for methanol measurement.
Also, it was noted that the NIR method was better able to account
for methanol in crude with higher, and varying, water content.
This could be a significant improvement in the accuracy of methanol
measurement. The
modeling process is in the early stages yet and EVCO Consulting and LT
Industries expect that further refinement of the correlations will be
evident with additional modeling on a fuller range of methanol and water
contents. Methanol Testing by NIR Analyzer - View
this Document****** Canadian Crude Quality Initiatives
- Mr. Tim Blackmore of Omnicon Associates represented the Canadian Crude
Quality Technical Association. Listing of CCQTA Project Funders - View
this Document****** Mr. Bill Lywood of Crude
Quality, Inc. informed us that CAPP has approved funding for
CrudeMonitor.ca through 2005 and that CAPP remains committed to quality.
CAPP's quality initiatives are currently focused on methods to produce
higher levels of consistency in the quality of delivered grades. These
initiatives are anticipated to improve netbacks to producers and also to
improve access to markets for Western Canadian crude oil products. Western
Canadian Select (WCS, a combination of streams from four independent
producers) has begun shipping. Consistent
quality was, and remains, a cornerstone in the development of this stream.
CAPP is continuing its
negotiations with Enbridge to include quality as part of the Incentive
Tolling Agreement. CAPP is also addressing contamination issues through
the Crude Quality Working Group and the CCQTA. Report
on the Canadian Subcommittee – The first meeting of the COQA
subcommittee on Canadian crude oil quality met in the morning.
Ron Fisher of BP is spearheading this group.
He opened the meeting with an overview of the current Canadian
crude types and their logistics. Tim
Blackmore of Omnicon Consultants reviewed Canadian organizations that have
an interest in quality and also overviewed CCQTA’s latest projects.
Bill Lywood of Crude Quality Inc. talked about the new Canadian
common stream, Western Canadian Select (WCS).
WCS is a blend of crudes which will reduce the number of streams
and allow for more effective usage of the existing tankage in the pipeline
delivery system out of Report on the Communication Forum – The final versions of
the Education Forums for refining and non-technical personnel were
reviewed at the morning meeting. All
three Forums (pipeline, refining, non-technical) are now published on
coqa-inc.org. Please contact the
COQA Director if you would like the programs in PowerPoint format.
The programs are intended for your use in disseminating our message
of quality throughout the oil industry.
The slides may be cut and pasted, and your corporate
logos and backgrounds incorporated as necessary to tailor a
presentation for your specific use. Quality
Parameters Subcommittee - A listing of important quality
parameters was garnered by Harry Giles, COQA Director.
Each attendee at this subcommittee meeting was also asked to
complete a questionnaire of the quality parameters most important to their
particular situation. Tish
will summarize the findings for discussion at the next meeting. COQA
Web Site and Budget Report - The COQA Director presented the final
financial report for 2004 and the 2005 budget.
Many thanks to our 2005 Financial Supporters:
Associate Members:
BakerPetrolite, BSI Inspectorate, ChevronTexaco, Giant Refining, Intertek
Caleb Brett, Nalco Energy Services,
Funding members: BP,
ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil Upstream, Gary- Williams, LOOP, Marathon
Ashland, Navajo Refining, NCRA, Shell Pipeline, Sunoco, Inc, (R&M) You may
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 | |