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Summary Mr. Clifford Mills of Conoco has graciously volunteered to spearhead this task force. Path Forward - The key issues facing the Water Measurement Implementation Task Force are formulating a plan of attack to overcome resistance in moving from BS&W testing to “Best Practice” (at this point – Karl Fischer) water testing, and how to incorporate that best method into custody transfer and contract and tariff language. A re-education of the personnel involved, from field technicians to buyers and sellers of crude oil, is necessary to accomplish our goal of guiding the industry toward using the best technology available to measure water in crude. Implementation of Best Practices for Water-in-Crude Measurement - Mr. Charles Der of KBC Advanced Technologies discussed water-in-crude measurement as a business process. Sampling, sample handling, preparing the sample for testing, the actual testing, and the accounting of net barrels are all important parts of the process. The water-in-crude method of test is an important part of the process, but still just one step. Charlie stated that Karl Fisher is superior to the centrifuge in that it has higher accuracy and precision but, with poor implementation, those advantages may not be fully realized. The procedures used for sample homogenization and sub sampling prior to test are absolutely critical for Karl Fischer because the size of the sample analyzed (1 ml) may be 50 times smaller than for centrifuge. Best practice standards covering all aspects of the water-in-crude process do exist and KBC’s recommendation for those standards can be found in the attachment. It is also important to consider the various parties involved in the business process of measuring water-in-crude (i.e. loading terminal, pipeline, truck unloading, refinery, etc.) and take steps to ensure that best practices are negotiated for all elements of each transaction. Other - It was decided that the COQA facilitator and Clifford will work on drafting language for our members to consider when incorporating the best water measurement technology into contracts and tariffs. They will contact the API Measurement Committee chair, Mr. Stewart Ash of BP Amoco, for possible collaboration. Clifford also mentioned the possible problem of disposing of the KF solvents in the field. These solvents may be hazardous waste. Harry Giles will contact various equipment vendors to get their input on this issue. Harry Giles | |