CRUDE OIL

CONDUCTIVITY

NALCO ENERGY
SERVICES
A.C. POTTER
February 8, 2007
 DESALTING PROCESS

Desalted
Heat Crude
Exchangers

Crude Oil
Mix
Valve
Water
Effluent Water

..

Copyright 2007 Nalco Company. All rights reserved

 CRUDE OIL DESALTER

Copyright 2007 Nalco Company. All rights reserved

 STOKES LAW

KD 2 ( w o )
V=

V = Settling Velocity
K = A Constant
D = Diameter of Water Droplet
w = Density of Water
o = Density of Oil
= Viscosity of Oil

Copyright 2007 Nalco Company. All rights reserved

 ELECTRICAL FIELD

-- +
-
-- --
++ ++
+
Electrostatic
Induced Charge Attraction
--
- - ---
++ ++

Copyright 2007 Nalco Company. All rights reserved

 ATTRACTIVE FORCE

CV 02 D 6
F =
d4

F = Attractive Force
C = A Constant
V0 = Voltage Gradient
D = Droplet Diameter
d = Distance Between Drops

Copyright 2007 Nalco Company. All rights reserved

 ELECTRICAL SUPPLY

Transformer Secondary
Line Voltage KVA Voltag
Rating
e
12-36 KV
Taps

800-3,000 Volts 8-24"

Inch Grids
Spacing

Copyright 2007 Nalco Company. All rights reserved

 TRANSFORMER CHARACTERISTICS

AC Transformer Response

Voltage

Amperage

Copyright 2007 Nalco Company. All rights reserved

 CRUDE CONDUCTIVITY

Crude Oil Resistance (Ohm-cm)

West Texas 3.0
Arabian Light 1.5
Arabian Heavy 1.1
INCREASING
Alaskan North Slope 1.0
CONDUCTIVITY
Maya 0.95
BCF 17 0.9
Lloydminster B 0.6
Source: Howe Baker Engineers

Copyright 2007 Nalco Company. All rights reserved

 DILUTION EFFECTS

7000000
CONDUCTIVITY PICOSIMENS/METER

6000000
Crude oil
+ Toluene
5000000

4000000

3000000

2000000
Crude oil
1000000

0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120

TEMPERATURE oC Toluene

Copyright 2007 Nalco Company. All rights reserved

 BLEND EFFECTS

ARAB HVY / DOBA CRUDE BLENDS

CONDUCTIVITY PICOSIMENS/METER

1400000

20% DOBA IN
1200000 ARAB HVY

1000000 10% DOBA IN

ARAB HVY
800000

600000
DOBA
400000

ARAB HVY
200000

0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

TEMPERATURE oC

Copyright 2007 Nalco Company. All rights reserved

 DESALTING OPERATION

INSTALLED TRANSFORMER CAPACITY KVA

Crude
Blend C
Crude
Blend B

Crude
Blend A

DESALTER OPERATING
TEMPERATURE oC

Copyright 2007 Nalco Company. All rights reserved

 EFFECTS ON VOLTAGE

CONDUCTIVITY

TEMPERATURE
WATER IN CRUDE
CONTANIMANTS
CRUDE OIL
COMPOSITION
PRODUCTION
ADDITIVES

Copyright 2007 Nalco Company. All rights reserved

 CRUDE CONDUCTIVITY

TEMPERATURE
INCREASES CONDUCTIVITY

WATER IN CRUDE OIL

INCREASES CONDUCTIVITY
DESALTER DESIGNED FOR % QUANTITIES

CONTANIMANTS
-CONDUCTIVE SPECIES (eg: Metals)

CRUDE OIL
COMPOSITION (?)
FORMATION RELATED (?)
ADDITIVES USED (?)

Copyright 2007 Nalco Company. All rights reserved

 DESALTING OPERATION

CRUDE QUALITY PARAMETERS

FOR DESALTING OPERATION

SPECIFIC GRAVITY OF CRUDE SLATE

WATER CONTENT OF CRUDE SLATE
VISCOSITY OF CRUDE SLATE
CHLORIDE CONTENT OF CRUDE SLATE
SOLIDS CONTENT OF CRUDE SLATE
CRUDE CONDUCTIVITY CRUDE SLATE

Copyright 2007 Nalco Company. All rights reserved