At of the meeting attendees can be obtained from the COQA Director.

The Facilitator distributed a compiled listing of all suggestions and comments made thus far on trading and crude oil quality.  The Facilitator also displayed a consolidated register of issues that the COQA might be able to influence and asked for discussion on which of those issues are most important to our members.  The following is the start of our plan of action.

 Trading Panel Discussion Notes - View this Document****
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 Trading Panel Discussion Summary - View this Document****
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Internet search for published contracts, may not be just oil industry

COQA should come up with suggested wording

Definitely go forward with publishing a paper in one of the industry journals

Anyone with contacts should please contact the Facilitator

Complaints from a refiner do to get back to the producer

Utilize an open discussion as a part of each meeting? Promote COQA forum page? Copy COQA Newsletter to producers and traders?

There was not much interest in a mass mailing from the COQA to the trading community

Technical Issues

Do not pursue group assays. They are not useful to everyone; the information each refinery needs varies so greatly that there is limited data available to share

In addition to periodic assays, can we get a progressive producer to start utilizing routine HTSD’s? Assays from the producer are still absolutely necessary but the HTSD test might be easier to update frequently.

For common streams, the HTSD or assay should be taken at a gathering location, like St. James, rather than at the well head

Assay frequency should be determined by volume

Some refineries already use real time data

The Art of Trading

Same issues as communication

Educate the trader as to the importance of quality and what quality is

Economics

It was generally agreed that the cost of a monitoring program is minor compared to the cost of the crude and any possible problems a crude might cause to a refinery or the supply system

Variability costs the producer too; non-consistent crude is generally valued per its worst case

Use "definition" of crude rather than "specification"

Who comes up with the definition, should the producers designate what they have or the refiners enumerate what they want?

Definition should contain limits on key parameters and be designed to encourage consistency and discourage outlyers

Variability is just another defined parameter