The United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA), in cooperation with the American Petroleum Institute (API) and the National Petrochemical and Refiners Association (NPRA), initiated a project in 2003 to determine the mercury content of crude oil processed in the United States. The focus of the project was to determine the mean concentration and the range of concentrations of mercury (total) in U.S.-processed crude oil in a statistical fashion. Data generated in the course of the project has been used to estimate an upper limit to the contribution of mercury in fuels made from crude oil to anthropogenic mercury emissions in the United States. The project examined analytical issues, concentration variance in major crude oil streams and sensitivity of the calculated mean to new import sources.

In addition to the environmental issues, mercury in crude oil has an impact on its perceived quality in the market place. Measuring mercury concentrations in crude oil has become more important as mercury's impact on production and processing systems has become better understood. The EPA/API/NPRA project has played a key role in the development of sampling and analysis methods for determination of mercury concentrations in crude oil. In addition, the project has contributed information to assist researchers involved with understanding the distribution of mercury in produced fluids throughout production and processing systems.

Publications from the project:

SPE/EPA/DOE Exploration and Production Environmental Conference (SPE)

Sampling and Analysis of Mercury in Crude Oil (ASTM)

Identification and Properties of Mercury Species in Crude Oil (ACS Energy & Fuel)

Mercury in Crude Oil Processed in the United States (2004)  (ES&T)