Anne K. Rhodes
Refining/Petrochemical Editor
Three noteworthy U.S. crudes, including Alaska North Slope (ANS), have been assayed.
Assays of two California OCS crudes-Hondo Sandstone and Hondo Monterey-are appearing in the journal for the first time. Also appearing is a 90% Monterey/10% Sandstone blend.
Although U.S. law prohibits the export of U.S. crudes the processing of ANS is so widespread in the U.S. that this crude is important enough to be carried in the Journal's continuing series of crude oil assays. Hondo crude, on the other hand, is one of perhaps a number of offshore California crudes that don't yet, but could eventually, influence U.S. refining.
Current production of ANS crudes is about 1.78 million b/d, although this number varies throughout the year. Kuparuk crude comprised about 300,000 b/d of ANS annual production when this assay was performed in early 1984. This is almost triple Kuparuk's contribution to the ANS total when the assay was last published, which may account for the changes in ANS's characteristics.
Hondo field is part of Exxon's Santa Ynez Unit (SYU). Production from Hondo began in 1981, and in 1991 it was about 22,500 b/d.
The Hondo platform was installed in 1976, and stands in 850 ft of water. It lies 25 miles west of Santa Barbara.
Its principal hydrocarbon reserves are in the Miocene Monterey formation. This formation contains a low gravity, highly viscous, sour crude (Hondo Monterey) and sour gas. The Monterey is underlain by small accumulations of sweet crude in sandstone formations (Hondo Sandstone).
Assay data for the two Hondo crudes were determined in mid-1989. The crudes are blended together before shipment.
Data for a 90:10 Monterey/Sandstone blend, assayed in third quarter 1991, also appear here.
Operator Exxon Co. U.S.A. is tankering Hondo crude to Los Angeles from an offshore storage and treating (OST) vessel. However, a major SYU expansion project is under way, with production from two new platforms--Harmony and Heritage--scheduled to begin in 1994.
About 7 miles of pipeline will be installed between the two platforms, and another 10 miles between Harmony and onshore storage and treatment facilities under construction in Las Flores Canyon.
Plans are for SYU crude to be shipped to Exxon's Baytown, Tex., refinery via Celeron Corp.'s All American Pipeline.
Copyright 1992 Oil & Gas Journal. All Rights Reserved.
