Chemical treatment suite remediates poor desalter performance

Challenge 

The operator of a new crude unit was having issues with poor desalter performance and turned to Halliburton for a solution. The desalter issues led to several high-profile oil undercarry incidents that resulted in fines and a near ban of the operator from brine to be processed at the city wastewater treatment plant. The poor crude desalting caused significant reliability issues, and the unit had to be shut down for repairs. 

Chemical lead times were also excessively long. This caused multiple run-outs and high chemical expenditure because the operator was forced to maintain elevated chemical inventory volumes as a mitigation measure. The operator grew frustrated with the incumbent chemical treatment and service company, citing that representatives were infrequently onsite and provided unsatisfactory and expensive assistance.

Solution 

Halliburton delivered a proven chemical treatment suite that included demulsifiers, corrosion inhibitors, and a new acidification product. This treatment was combined with weekly service reports and daily technical recommendations by the technical group and onsite subject matter experts (SMEs).

Result

Within a few weeks of the applied solution, the desalter operated with improved performance and oil under-carry, and risks of wastewater contamination were significantly reduced. This was accomplished through application expertise and service. The operator reduced delivery lead times and costs and achieved record throughput and reliability. The operator reported savings of $10 million annually attributed to improved desalter performance, increased reliability, and decreased chemical costs. 

Halliburton is now intricately integrated with the operator’s daily strategic operation and is the preferred chemical and service provider. In addition to the process treatment, we provide the operator service in areas of steam generation treatment and aviation additives for military-spec fuel. Halliburton will also provide chemical programs for future expansion plans.