Oil Refineries

The most important objective of any oil production facility is the separation of water from produced crude. The quick and efficient breaking of these emulsions is essential to meet tight downstream crude oil specifications. In general, crude oil is produced as a water-in-oil emulsion and demulsifiers are necessary for breaking such emulsions. The factors involved in treating emulsions include breaking the film surrounding the small water droplets and coalescing the droplets to produce larger drops. Finally, the water drops settle during or after their coalescence.

The two most prevalent oilfield scales are calcium carbonate and barium sulfate. Barium sulfate is commonly encountered when highly sulphated seawater or surface waters are injected into a reservoir to maintain pressure. Mixing with high barium formation waters can lead to rapid scaling due to the very low solubility of barium sulfate in water. scale can lead to major technical and safety concerns by restricting the fluid pathways. Metalub scale inhibitors bind to the crystal growth sites thus preventing further growth, allowing microfine crystallites to be flushed from the system. Metalub technical and laboratory teams have developed methods to follow the performance of our scale inhibitors under a series of standard conditions. In addition, real-time scale monitor is available for our customers.

Microbial contamination during Crude Oil and Natural Gas operations may occur by proliferation of anaerobic bacteria, i.e. sulfate reducing bacteria (SRB), in oil and gas fields in pipelines, installations for oil and gas recovery and drilling as well as by the use of surface and seawater commonly used to increase process pressure. Sulfate reducing bacteria may cause the following problems: Microbial induced Corrosion (MIC) on iron and steel pipelines, tanks and process equipment, Formation of toxic hydrogen sulphide, Formation of scale, which may cause plugging in process equipment, and Degradation of process chemicals. Metalub technical team will help you select the best solution from our portfolio: Prevention of microbiologically induced corrosion (MIC), Broad, balanced spectrum biocidal effect (including sulfate-reducing bacteria), Good immediate effect as well as lasting activity, Good anticorrosion properties, and High efficacy and stability at high temperature.