Measurement of mercury content in process fluids is critical for sales product specifications, integrity and health and safety monitoring. Intertek can conduct on-site analysis of mercury enabling real-time determination.
Mercury occurs naturally in hydrocarbon reservoirs and is distributed through all phases (oil, gas and water). The concentration of mercury is highly variable but even low concentrations of mercury can have a significant impact on plant performance due to the quantities of oil and gas being processed.
It can impact production in a number of ways including damage to the processing plant, pipelines, contamination resulting in off spec product as well as giving significant environmental concerns.
Mercury can form amalgams, with other metals, and can cause corrosion of welds, seals, pump shafts etc. and therefore it is not uncommon for mercury specifications to be imposed as part of commercial agreements and transactions.
Knowledge of the mercury content in production, petrochemical feed-stocks and refinery products is thus extremely important.
Intertek can provide tailored Total Quality Assured surveys on-site to quantify mercury levels. Analysis of pressurised and stable samples including: crude oil, natural gas, produced water, solid deposits, effluent water and utility fluids.
Our portable analysis units can perform a range of analysis;
- Hydrocarbon liquids by ASTM D7623 modified
- Hydrocarbon gas by ASTM D5954 modified
- Water samples by Atomic Absorption
- Solid samples by manufacturer Atomic absorption method
The flexibility to conduct analysis on all phases using the same analyser reduces space requirements and equipment downtime. Which is a major benefit for shipment of equipment offshore.
Intertek has a pool of experienced ad-hoc offshore personnel capable of conducting sampling and analysis on-site.
Mercury sampling requires the sample to be drawn in inert coated vessels to avoid the risk of mercury adhering to the cylinder walls, Intertek Aberdeen operate a fleet of rental cylinders suitable to be utilized for mercury sampling to assure better process control, consistent sampling and analytical results.
