Russian Crude Contamination Risks

A batch of Russian crude contaminated with high levels of organic chlorides has been transported through the Druzhba pipeline system and also loaded onto tankers at Ust-Luga port in the Baltic. This batch of oil has an increased risk of corrosion and may be rejected by oil refineries.

The contaminated batch is estimated to consist of 19 million barrels. It is currently being stored in the pipeline and onboard oil tankers loaded with this contaminated cargo while oil companies come up with a solution on how to resolve the issue.

What are organic chlorides?

Organic chlorides are not naturally occurring in crude oil, but are sometimes added in low concentrations during extraction from the oil field to dissolve wax. Some sources are of the opinion that this particular batch of oil was overdosed with organic chlorides.

What are the problems with loading this crude?

If a vessel loads crude oil with high levels of organic chloride there is an increased risk of corrosion damage to the vessel’s cargo tanks and cargo systems.
Receivers at the discharge port may reject the cargo due to the risk of the cargo contaminants damaging the terminal’s processing equipment. A recent AmSpec report states that the presence of even a very small amount (a few ppm) of chlorides can cause considerable damage to refinery equipment.

Oil experts Associated Petroleum Consultants Ltd. (APC) advises that as there are a lot of variables to be taken into consideration as to what would be a ‘safe’ limit, no fixed value can be put in place.

Precautions

Prior to accepting any Russian crude oil cargo, request that the cargo is analysed for the presence of organic chlorides in accordance with industry approved ASTM D (4929 or 5808) & UOP (588 or 779) test methods.

If the results of the analysis cause concern, contact an expert for advice prior to agreeing to load the cargo.

Charterparties involving future loading or carriage of this cargo should include a suitable clause that deals with sampling and testing of the cargo. Testing should be carried out at an independent laboratory to the relevant ASTM D or UOP standards previously mentioned. The tests should also be carried out using samples taken prior to loading, preferably taken jointly between Owners, Charterers and Shippers of the cargo.

Thanks to Captain David J. Payne of Associated Petroleum Consultants Ltd for their kind assistance in writing this article.