Summary
Crude Oil Quality Association
Houston, TX
September 29, 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”.

Elemental Analysis of FLO® Drag Reducer Products - David Schwartz of BakerPetrolite overviewed the composition of drag reducer products.  Drag reducing additives are used by many pipelines to increase throughput without the need for capital spending.  Trace contaminants in crude feed can cause problems and additives can be a potential source of such contaminants.  Commercial drag reducers, usually injected at very low dosages (25 to 100ppm), are typically a high molecular weight hydrocarbon polymer in a carrier solvent with stabilizers.  All FLO® drag reduction agents are at least 93% organic (XL slurry products) with most (gel and MX slurry products) greater than 99% organic.  Many inorganic elements are present at only <0.4ppm (test detection limit) with Si present at <60ppm, Ca at <200ppm and S at < 4ppm.  Based on these results, and historical experience, FLO® products are expected to have negligible impact on refinery operations.  

FLO Drag Reducer View this Document**************
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Hydrogen Sulfide Abatement was presented by John Garcia of Nalco.  Nalco has worldwide experience in hydrogen sulfide treatment for crude oil production, and both inside and outside of the refinery.  H2S can be found in both the vapor headspace (above a confined crude oil cargo) and in the liquid crude oil itself.  Nalco’s process to control H2S consists of initial screening to determine which of their available chemicals would be the most efficient, treating the crude, and monitoring the treatment to optimize the injection rates.  Nalco’s SULFA-CHECK™ chemical treatment produces an oil-soluble sulfide derivative along with amines.  Should the sulfide derivative survive the crude unit furnace, the stable sulfide derivative finds its way into the lighter end-products.  The amines go overhead in the refining process, but, although pH increases slightly, there have been no corrosion or fouling issues encountered.  Hydrogen sulfide prone crude oils are becoming more prevalent in the market; an efficient abatement program can cost effectively make those crudes safe and economic to run.  

Hydrogen Sulfide Abatement View this Document****************
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Oily Water Treatment was presented by Anna Johnston of CETCO.  CETCO is the environmental services arm of AMCOL International, a $459 million company with 1200 employees providing products and technologies for a wide range of industrial and consumer-related markets.  CETCO has extensive experience in treating all types of oily water such as hydrostatic testing water, contact water, tank cleaning residue, and water from off-spec products.  Their extensive equipment and crews perform the treats on site with temporary set-ups that require no capital outlay from the client.  All treated fluids are discharged within permit requirements on site.  Some of the projects CETCO has handled are offshore and on shore hydrostatic tests, pipeline construction, change of service and abandonment, and terminal and tank farm tank and line cleaning.  Anna can be reached at anna.johnston@cetco.com.  

Oily Water Treatment View this Document****************
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Ranzy Morgan of BSI Inspectorate introduced us to BSI’S New Full Service Crude Oil Lab in Houston.  Their Houston Technical Center offers a full spectrum of analytical services, including crude oil assays, physical and analytical testing, gas chromatography analysis, technical and research support, and quality certification.  The crude assay department has five distillation towers and three vacuum stills to perform a variety of testing needs in a short turnaround time.  BSI prides itself on quality first and practices continuous improvement to ensure that their customers meet their business objectives.  Ranzy can be reached at ranzy.morgan@inspectorate.com or 713-948-5126.

Naphthenic Acid Analysis - Saadedine Tebbal discussed the use of TAN (total acid number per ASTM D664), NAN (naphthenic acid number by extraction of acid by chromatography then analysis by FTIR) and NAT (naphthenic acid titration by extraction of the acids by chromatography then titration per ASTM D664) to value crude oils and predict the corrosivity of a stream.  These test methodologies can have many drawbacks, especially when applied to crude oil.  Addition of oilfield chemicals or impurities such as asphaltene can affect the TAN results. There is no naphthenic acid standard for the three methods and the NAN changes depending on the acid standard used.

Dr. Tebbal suggests that there are better tests available.  Mass spectroscopy was shown to predict the average molecular weight of the nap acid in a crude blend, the weight percent of the nap acids, NAN , and the nap acid distribution.  This information is generally more useful than the more common TAN.  Research is needed on the newer catalyzed thermometric titration and conductometric titration methods which are easier and more reliable analytical methods than TAN, NAN and NAT.

Naphthenic Acid Analysis View this Document****************
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PERF: Reducing the Desalter Environmental Impact - The Petroleum Environmental Research Forum was formed by US oil companies in 1986 to promote cooperative research.  Bruce Kennedy of KBW Process Consultants updated us on PERF’s desalting project.  This is a continuation of a project completed in 1993.  Tighter environmental regulations, heavier crudes, and higher refinery throughputs have all contributed to the necessity of re-looking at desalting operations.  Desalter generated issues can have a significant impact throughout the refinery; limiting crude throughput and decreasing slate optimization.  There are many different desalting philosophies, operating practices and results.  Through this project, PERF plans to deliver best practices for hardware, chemicals, and technological options.   Details of the project, and how to participate, are available at www.perf.org.  

PERF View this Document******************
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Canadian Crude Quality Initiatives - Mr. Bruce Kennedy of KBW Process Consultants represented the Canadian Crude Quality Technical Association. 

• Heavy Oil BS&W Project - Finalizing development of the organic extraction procedure and scheduled to test problematic crudes to determine role of organics

·     ·Phosphorous in Crude Project - Current CAPP testing indicates phosphorus volatiles are much greater than anticipated, working on confirming chemistry of volatile components

·     ·TAN Project - Mini round robin completed with method modifications to be published soon.  Corrosivity testing to ascertain correlation between TAN and corrosivity completed on select crude oils.

·     ·NGL Contamination Project - Preliminary evidence suggests that NGL contamination during pipeline transport is minimal.  Contamination source under investigation.

·     ·Heavy Oil Emulsion Viscosity Project - Preparing to use field tests to confirm the accuracy of current viscosity models on selected wells using pressure drop and operating / configuration data

·     ·Heavy Oil Methods Manual Project - In proposal stage - To provide critical review and discussion of analytical methods for heavy oil and bitumen

·     ·Additive Impact Project - In proposal stage - To provide a summary of oilfield chemistries in use and their impact downstream

·     ·Olefins Method Development - Test method to be posted on CCQTA website shortly  

CCQTA View this Document******************
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Report on the Canadian Subcommittee – The Subcommittee held an open discussion of the Canadian Crude Oil Quality Issues delineated at our first meeting. 

There is still some confusion on the different types of synthetic crudes available.  It was suggested that the producers generally provide detailed information on their own particular type of synthetic.  The COQA Director will investigate installing links with these manufacturers’ web sites on coqa-inc.org. 

CCQTA projects are independently funded, with the results being proprietary to those paying members.  However, it is possible, for a fee, to join after the fact and share in those results.  If you are interested in any of the current or historical CCQTA projects (a list and description appear in these minutes under Canadian Crude Quality Initiatives), please contact Tim Blackmore or Bruce Kennedy, our CCQTA representatives.

Please be advised that the COQA Director will be distributing our Crude Oil Quality Incident Tracking Form to each COQA member, specifically asking for Canadian issues.  Your input will be greatly appreciated.

Please note, that due to the informal nature of the discussion, separate meeting notes will not be distributed.

Report on the Domestic Trading Center Subcommittee - Aaron Dillard of ConocoPhillips updated the Domestic Trading Center (DTC) Subcommittee on the Basin Pipeline Sampling and Testing Program that ran from 1996 through 2001.  Data from that program was utilized to help implement gravity and sulfur specifications on Basin’s sweet common streams.  Sour crude was also covered by the program, but specifications were not activated.   The Subcommittee decided to concentrate on the Cushing, OK trading center for now.  Several methods to go forth were discussed, including contacting the MERC for support, communicating with refiners in the area and formalizing a Mission Statement.  John Maurer of Valero is chairing this subcommittee and welcomes your input.  Please contact John or the COQA Director if you wish to be a part of this subcommittee and haven’t already signed up.

COQA Web Site and Budget Report - The COQA Director presented the financial report for the first nine 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 New Orleans on February 23, 2006.

Harry Giles, COQA Director