Case History

Crude Oil Management Program

Increased Throughput
Desalter performance maintained with heavy Canadian crude

Benets
Reduced

costs for refinery

Eliminated

desalter upsets and

wastewater treatment problems

Improved

crude charge rates by

improving desalter performance

Background and challenges

North American
Heavy,

refinery

high-solids Canadian feedstock

Desalter upsets caused by thick emulsion

Oil

undercarry to the wastewater

treatment plant

Reduced

charge rates to the

coker desalter

Develop

a treatment strategy to
prevent desalter upsets and reduce
the oil undercarry

Baker Hughes solution and results

Baker

Hughes Crude Oil

Management program

Baker

Petrolite BPR23025R
pretreatment demulsifier application

Baker

Petrolite XERIC heavy oil program

Improved

solids removal

Processing problems
A North American renery experienced
problems when they began processing
increased levels of heavy Canadian crudes.
The heavy crude formed an emulsion layer
within the desalter and led to oil undercarry
to the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP).
For several weeks, the charge rates to the
renery had to be reduced.

Maintained dehydration and salt removal

Reduced

chemical and wastewater

treatment costs

The incumbent demulsier had been used

for more than 10 years, but it was unable
to meet the more rigorous processing
demands of the heavy Canadian crude oil.

Treatment strategy
The rener asked Baker Hughes to
develop a treatment strategy that would
solve the desalter upsets and reduce the
oil undercarry issues associated with
processing heavy Canadian crudes.

The Baker Hughes staff in conjunction

with the rener implemented a Crude Oil
Management program consisting of
Electrostatic Desalting & Dehydration
Apparatus (EDDA) testing
Product trials from the Baker Petrolite
XERIC heavy oil product line
A Baker Petrolite BPR23025R
pretreatment demulsifier application,
injected at the tank farm crude custody
transfer line
A BPR23025R primary demulsifier, injected
at the desalter crude charge pump
A periodic BPR23025R slug feed
application (200 ppm for 6-8 hours)
A coagulant injected into the brine
water leaving the desalter

Consistent results during trial

Within hours of starting the BPR23025R
primary demulsier trial, the emulsion band

shrank, and the emulsion changed from a

thick paste to a thin oil-in-water emulsion
that broke immediately after sampling.
During the 12-week trial period, the
desalter consistently ran without upsets or
oil undercarry problems, and the desalter
performance did not limit crude charge

rates. Throughout the trial, solids removal

improved while maintaining dehydration
and salt removal. The solids that were
generated in the brine were free of oil,
reducing the impact at the WWTP.

WWTP costs, and saved on chemicals and

treatment costs.
This case history is presented for
illustration purposes only, as the results
may vary between applications.

The Baker Hughes Crude Oil Management

program improved throughput, reduced

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