AM-95-69 DESALTING “OPPORTUNITY CRUDES”

Description:

The escalating cost of environmental compliance, combined with fluctuating market conditions, have refiners struggling to remain profitable. To help maintain profitability, many refiners are realigning their processes and resources to allow them to run heavier, lower cost, “opportunity” crudes. Some examples of these crudes are; SJV, Pilon, BCF, Menemota, and Iranian Heavy, Many of these heavier crudes are difficult to desalt (due to the lower density difference between the crude and water), and can significantly contribute to downstream corrosion, fouling and catalyst poisoning. Consequently, effective desalting is a critical first step to successfully processing these crudes. The real challenge when desalting these crudes is to maintain clean effluent brine and at the same time minimize total operating costs. Lose control of either, and the economic benefit of processing opportunity crudes in the first place can be diminished.