Summary
Crude Oil Quality Association
Chicago , IL
May 26, 2005  

Details on the meeting presentations can be found on coqa-inc.org or by contacting the COQA Director, Harry Giles, at dir.coqa@verizon.net.

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”.

Update on Drag Reducing Agents – Joey Pierce of ConocoPhillips presented on flow improvers.  ConocoPhillips’ products are suspension drag reducers that are injected into a pipeline in very small concentrations (parts per million).  These types of drag reducers consist of long-chain hydrocarbon polymers that act as buffers along the pipe to decrease the amount of energy lost in turbulent formation.  Drag reducing agents in some form have been around since the 1940’s with commercial applications appearing in the late 1970’s, in conjunction with the Alaskan Pipeline.  There are formulas now for refined product improvers and also special products designed for heavier crudes.  Drag reducing agents have applications for producers (maximize volume), refiners (reduce bottlenecks) and pipelines (increase revenues through maximized throughput and more efficient energy usage).  Please visit liquidpower.com for more information.

A New Process for Removing Calcium from Crude Oils Containing Calcium Naphthenates was presented by Scott Bieber of Baker Petrolite.  Some crudes being produced today in West Africa, the North Sea, China and Indonesia are high in calcium naphthenates.  Calcium naphthenates are natural emulsion stabilizers which can lead to desalting problems and scaling.  Most of the high calcium crudes are also high in acidity, increasing the potential for high temperature naphthenic acid corrosion.  Also, the high calcium can find its way into atmospheric and vacuum resids, with possible detrimental effects on downstream catalytic processes, and coke or heavy fuel oil product specifications and values.  Baker Petrolite’s metals removal technology involves injection of complexing agent during the desalting process, which converts the metallic species (calcium, and maybe iron but not nickel or vanadium) into water soluble compounds which are then easily removed with the desalter effluent.  Emulsion breaker chemistries and proper desalter optimization are used to maximize mixing energy while maintaining desired crude oil dehydration efficiency and effluent water quality.  Designed for crude oils with calcium naphthenates at levels 100 ppm as calcium or higher, the technology has averaged 70% removal with removal efficiencies up to 85% very achievable with the proper field applications. Both laboratory tests and field tests have been utilized to arrive at these figures.  Also, BakerPetrolite offers laboratory screening to predict the performance of this technology on specific crude oils and blends.

 Calcium Removal  View this Document**********
**(Requires free Adobe Acrobat Reader)

Pipeline Quality Initiatives – Patti Edens of Shell Pipeline discussed salt and methanol in Gulf of Mexico crudes, syncrude, and the short supply of the Drag Reducing Agent (DRA) they currently use. 

• Shell Pipeline is investigating a refinery complaint possibly caused by increased salt levels.  Lab testing issues, changes in the refinery’s crude slate and the type of salt in the crude are all issues that need to be defined.

• It is generally accepted that methanol usage will only increase in the near future.  Low Dosage Hydrate Inhibitors (LDHI) are in use, but new wells are outpacing the switch to LDHI.  Much better communication and cooperation from producers have made it easier to manage methanol.

• Zuata Sweet and Zuata Medium have been moved successfully on Capline.

• Capline is testing a new type of DRA (a c12 alpha olefin) to see if it will have the same drag reducing properties as the original (a C10 alpha olefin).  Crude quality issues are not expected with either form of DRA.

Canadian Crude Quality Initiatives - Mr. Tim Blackmore of Omnicon Associates represented the Canadian Crude Quality Technical Association.  The active projects of this organization are as follows:

·        Heavy Oil BS&W Project - quantify the impact of individual solids and water components of BS&W on various sectors

·        Phosphorous in Crude Project - identify the source of tower fouling in affected refineries and develop alternate chemistries to alleviate the fouling

·        TAN Project - issues include new developments in analytical chemistry, evaluation of product segregation during transport and options for mitigation of naphthenic acid corrosion, especially in regards to Canadian oilsands

·        NGL Contamination Project – identify critical process responsible for foulant generation at several locations

·        Heavy Oil Emulsion Viscosity Project – identify a process to accurately predict emulsion viscosities through literature searches, modeling and onsite verification

·        Heavy Oil Methods Manual – produce a list of analysis methods used for heavy oils with a discussion of the application issues and suggestions on how to work around them.  This project is in the early stages.  Anyone interested in participating should please contact Tim at teblackmore@omnicon.ca.

The details of Tim’s presentation are posted.  These details include project managers, with contact information, and a complete listing of each project’s participants.

CCQTA Projects  View this Document**********
**(Requires free Adobe Acrobat Reader)

Report on the Canadian Subcommittee – Bill Lywood of Crude Quality Inc. updated the group on the new Canadian common stream Western Canadian Select (WCS).  Ashok Anand of Enbridge Pipeline presented Enbridge’s quality programs.  Tim Blackmore of Omnicon Consultants discussed the new CCQTA project on test methods for heavy crudes.  A discussion of specific issues concerning Canadian crudes led to questions on asphalt and coking properties, batch to batch consistency, and synthetic crude handling.  Details of the presentations can be found on coqa-inc.org under Canadian Crude Quality.

Report on the Domestic Trading Center Subcommittee the first meeting of this new subcommittee was chaired by John Maurer of Valero.  The subcommittee identified Midland , TX ; Homa , LA ; Patoka , IL ; Empire, LA; Cushing , OK ; St. James , LA ; and Guernsey , WY and the next trading centers to consider for setting crude quality standards.  HTSD, acidity, gravity, sulfur, metals (especially nickel and vanadium) were all mentioned as important quality parameters.  Action items include identifying the connected pipelines and contacting them for possible involvement and cooperation.

COQA Web Site and Budget Report - The COQA Director presented the financial report for the first four months of 2005.  Many thanks to our 2005 financial supporters.

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 Houston on September 29, 2005.

Harry Giles, COQA Director