With the export of ever-increasing volumes of Permian crude and the recent inclusion of WTI Midland in the assessment of dated Brent prices, the issue of iron content, particularly in some Permian crudes, is coming to the fore plan This has become a point of emphasis for exported light sweet crude because many less complex foreign refineries do not have the capacity to adequately handle high iron content. Iron content exceeding desirable levels could have far-reaching repercussions, from sellers facing financial penalties for not meeting quality specifications to marine terminals being excluded from the Brent assessment if they miss the mark. It’s a complicated issue, with opinions divided on what makes the iron content of a relatively small subset of Permian oil so worryingly high, and how best to approach the problem. In today’s RBN blog, we look at the iron content of crude oil, why it matters to refiners, how it affects prices, and what steps the industry is taking to address it.
When Iron Man was introduced to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) in 2008, the character was a revelation to casual superhero fans who may have known about him but relatively little about the character’s potential. However, the first iron man The film helped launch what was probably the most successful film franchise in history, and Marvel Studios followed up the film’s success by developing even more obscure comics. Similarly, although at an entirely different stage, oil and gas production stream contaminants such as mercaptans, iron and sulfur are familiar to the industry, although they may not be well understood. And unlike movie heroes, these polluters have more in common with Ozzy’s Iron Man, filling “fear-filled victims.”
In the first blog of this series, Oh, captain, mercaptans, we discussed some of the sources of mercaptans (natural contaminants in crude oil and natural gas), the methods used to treat crude oil containing high levels of it, and various approaches midstream companies use to manage or prevent the receipt of crude oil contaminated oil Today we focus on iron. While other metals such as vanadium and nickel are concerns for heavier crude oil, iron content appears to be a primary challenge for light crudes produced in the Permian Basin.
