|
Summary The meeting agenda was distributed to those in attendance. Samples Received to Date – Shawna Ryder of ITS Caleb Brett presented slides on samples received to date by crude type and location. Data Presentation – Aaron Dillard of Conoco presented the location report produced by HPI Consultants’ program. The numbers shown on the summary report correspond to graphs that are produced through the program. Please note that the UCL and LCL are two standard deviations. Data Consolidation Program – Ward Davis of HPI consultants demonstrated the program designed to store and analyze the voluminous data generated through the Basin Pipeline testing. The program is menu driven and appears easy to learn. It can produce graphs by any combination of location, crude type and pipeline and has some statistical capability. A useful feature is the listing of all samples received, sorted by location. We have several “unique” nomenclatures which can now be more easily found and addressed to assure they are properly accounted for in the final analysis. All present members of the Subcommittee agreed that ITS Caleb Brett should purchase the HPI program. All members are urged to purchase their own copy, for individual manipulations into whatever formats are most important to their individual company. However, the raw data will still be entered into an Excel spreadsheet (which can be fed into the HPI program) so all shippers will still have access to the same database that was always provided. The cost of the HPI program is $895 but a discount may be available if a goodly number of shippers purchase it. ITS Caleb Brett will distribute their cost of purchasing the program to all subcommittee members at the next invoice. It will be approximately $112 for each of the current 8 members. Sample Handling and Testing Process – Frank Hagardorn of ITS Caleb Brett introduced Mike LaRosa who is the person most responsible for logging in the samples received from Basin and running the tests. The samples do not appear to be labeled in a consistent manner and certain stations, namely Jal and Haskel, have not submitted any samples for some time now. Bob Goodmark of Equilon Pipeline will communicate with the pipeline field personnel, reiterating that the program is still in place and samples are necessary. He will also attempt to set consistent naming standards and endeavor to assure that only common stream samples are submitted. UPS has new conditions which are creating some of the problems as their new label requirements are somewhat vague. ITS Caleb Brett will prepare a sample shipping procedure to be disseminated to the field. The procedure can be made available through the Basin Subcommittee minutes or perhaps can be included in Bob’s communication. It was suggested that HPI include a “last sampled date” on their listing of samples. This should assist in finding and correcting misnamed samples. Random Testing Recommendation - Don Hamilton of Gary-Wiiliams presented historical information on the cost of the testing program thus far. Over a quarter of a million dollars has been expended by the Subcommittee members to date, with invoices to each in the neighborhood of $1000 monthly. With the historical data now available, it should be relatively simple to determine those areas that could be cut back to random testing, although all batches will still be sampled. Clifford Mills and Aaron Dillard, both of Conoco, agreed to utilize the HPI program and make a recommendation on random testing at the next meeting. Report on Meeting with Equilon Pipeline – Don Hamilton of Gary-Williams summarized the August 6 meeting between Gary-Williams, Conoco, NCRA and Equilon Pipeline. The meeting was generally favorable with Equilon reiterating their commitment to quality and this testing program. More details of the meeting can be found on Attachment 6. Status of Texaco Pipeline and Shell Pipeline Merger – Bob Goodmark of Equilon Pipeline reiterated that he is currently the person to contact for quality management. One of the first steps Equilon has taken is the establishment of “Super Sweet” and “Domestic Sweet” common streams. Super Sweet requirements are 38 to 45 degrees gravity and 0.35% sulfur. Domestic Sweet will run at 37 to 42 and 0.42. This designation was deemed necessary in order to have a stream that would meet the Arco Cushing requirements. The enforcement policy for the Domestic Sweet and Super Sweet streams is found on Attachment 7. Bob mentioned to the Basin Subcommittee that the Capline specifications for LLS went into effect the day of the meeting, October 1. As far as anyone in the group knew, these are the first specifications established anywhere that are so inclusive; not only gravity and sulfur are specified but also distillation and metals. Solicitation of Other Shippers Support – Aaron Dillard agreed to write a letter to all shippers on the Basin system outlining the sampling and testing program and urging their support, both operationally and financially. Don Hamilton will personally contact Ultramar Diamond Shamrock in their position as a major refiner in the Midwest region. Next Steps – Enough data has been generated to find a statistically correct “footprint” for WTI which could most likely be adopted to the new Domestic Sweet designation. Don Hamilton, Aaron Dillard and Gayle Seibel of NCRA will attempt to put together a first look at a footprint for the next meeting. The parameters established through the footprinting process would then be submitted to the Basin Pipeline owners for their approval and support. After Basin has approved, the specifications would be introduced to connecting carriers. Please note that Basin is owned 20% by Arco and 80% by Equilon. Arco is also a major connecting facility. It was decided at this time to concentrate on the sweet streams for setting parameters although data will still be collected for West Texas Sour. Other – Aaron Dillard of Conoco mentioned that Arco Pipeline at Cushing is considering introducing other parameters to their Cushing specification list.
Submitted by Harry Giles COQA Facilitator (216) 521-9213
| |