Shale Oil Impacts on Refining and Transportation · 2014-08-28 · 0.00 2.00 4.00 6.00 8.00 10.00 12.00 14.00 16.00 18.00 20.00 22.00 24.00 26.00 28.00 30.00 c11 c12 c13 c14 c15 c16

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Baker Hughes Downstream Chemicals

Shale Oil Impacts on Refining and Transportation

Baker HughesLarry Kremer

Shale Oil Processing Issues

• Wax deposits in tanks• Emulsion stabilization &

water hold up in crude oil • High filterable solids • Crude blending• Overhead corrosion

• Cold & hot train fouling• Fuel blending• Odor and hydrogen sulfide• Cold flow and lubricity

properties of fuels

Shale oil quality variability from one field

© 2012 Baker Hughes Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. 2

Characteristics of Shale Production

• Some times called ‘tight oil’• Horizontal drilling was key technology

advance• Hydraulic fracturing of shale formation• Infrastructure does not exist to meet needs

– Most shale oil moved by rail or trucks– Limited pipelines expanding to meet transportation needs

• Unit trains bring Bakken to east coast, west coast, and gulf coast• Truck transportation leads to quality fluctuations• As oil is consolidated into larger shipments, quality variations should

be reduced


Analytical - Eagle Ford Crude Variability

Value Yellow Red Black

API 55.0 44.6 52.3

TAN <0.05 0.07 <0.05

Sulfur <0.2% <0.2% <0.2%

Asphaltene 0% 0% 0.1%

Resin 0.5% 3.2% 1.6%

Filterable solids 176 PTB 295 PTB 225 PTB


Micrograph of Sludge

100 X

400 X


Paraffin Analysis Bottom of Sample

• Considerable high molecular weight wax in bottom• High MW = High melting point Some wax melts above 100ºC (212ºF)


Transportation Issues

• Incompatibility with asphaltenic crude oils

• Paraffin deposits

• H2S – HS&E issue

• Odor – Trains and trucks

• Mercaptans in Utica production

• Tendency to over treat with scavengers can lead to amines in crude unit


Shale Oil Hydrogen Sulfide

• Although low in S they can be high in H2S– HS&E concerns– Trucks and trains travel through towns– Fittings on sweet tanks may not handle H2S

• Misapplication can cause downstream issues– Excessive chemical use– Some scavengers can lead to downstream salting– Amine chlorides salts in overhead can be corrosive


Paraffin Deposits

• Transportation– Pipelines– Barges– Trains– Cold train exchangers

• Crude storage tank– Sludge increase– Wall deposits

• H/C Atomic Ratio =1.5 • 24% Fe + S• 63% C + H

Deposit Composition

mV

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250.00

Minutes0.00 2.00 4.00 6.00 8.00 10.00 12.00 14.00 16.00 18.00 20.00 22.00 24.00 26.00 28.00 30.00

C11

C12

C13 C

14 C15

C16

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C18

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C20

C21

C22

C23

C24

C25

C26

C27

C28

C29

C30

C31

C32

C33 C34 C35 C36 C

37 C38 C

39C

40 C41

C42

C43 C

44C4

5 C46

C47 C

48C

49C

50C

51C

52C

53C

54C

55C

56C

57C

58C

59C

60C

61C

62C

63C

64C

65C6

6C

67C

68 C69 C70 C71 C72 C73


Cold Train Fouling Trial

• Customer must clean cold train exchangers every 10 days• Deposits have wax and asphaltene components• Developed new LIFESPAN™ fouling control additives• Treatment continued 6 months without cleaning shut down• Reduction in fouling so significant that customer will not

turn off chemical


LIFESPAN is a trademark of Baker Hughes Incorporated

Issues with Asphaltene Destabilization

• Shale oil can destabilize asphaltenic crude

• Problem shows up first as emulsion stabilization

– Oil in desalter brine– Increased BS&W

• Potential destabilization in tankage

• Asphaltene fouling of hot train• Customers have also seen cold train fouling• Destabilization can be quantified with the Field ASIT

services™ technologyField ASIT services is a trademark of Baker Hughes Incorporated.© 2012 Baker Hughes Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. 11

ASIT™ Asphaltene Stability Index Test• ASIT Test measures the onset of the flocculation of the asphaltenes

with high accuracy by inducing the asphaltene precipitation via titration with a paraffinic solvent


ASIT is a trademark of Baker Hughes Incorporated

ASIT Blend of Bakken and Cold Lake


Shale Oil Blending

• Paraffins destabilize asphaltenes• Negative impact on desalter operation

–Brine quality–Rag stability

• Can lead to fouling:–Cold train–Hot train–Furnace


Summary

• Shale oils are paraffinic– Low sulfur and TAN– Blending issues with asphaltenic crude oils

• Low sulfur but can have H2S– Apply correct product properly

• Paraffin content raises new fouling issues– Additives have demonstrated effective control

• Cold train fouling• Hot train fouling• Furnace fouling



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