CRUDE OIL WASHING and HEATING POLICY

General Information
For a number of years there has been no clear policy on Crude Oil Washing (COW) and Cargo
Heating. Being concerned with maximising the quantity of cargo discharged the Oil Trading
Cargo Assurance team, (gbgcargoassurance@bp.com), has contributed to the thinking that
performing a full COW is not necessarily to BPs advantage. For a large number of crude oils
minimising the amount of COW produces a better outturn.
There are two distinct areas where a full COW is believed to be counter productive, that of crudes
unsuitable for COW due to their viscous or waxy nature, and those that are particularly light, the
use of which would result in excessive gas evolution.
High Viscosity Crude Oils
For these crude oils the problem is high viscosity not necessarily sludge deposition, therefore
these types of crude oil may have a lower carriage temperature than discharge temperature. They
usually have a high aromatic content and may be known as aromatic crude oils.
Waxy Paraffinic Crude Oils
It is important that these crude oils are maintained at the recommended temperature throughout
the voyage otherwise wax deposition will occur
With both the High Viscosity and Waxy crude oils careful consideration should be paid to
ballasting during discharge. If possible and where hull stresses permit wing ballast tanks should
not be filled until the adjacent cargo tank has been emptied. This will prevent the bulkheads being
cooled by the ballast water and therefore hindering or stopping the draining of the cargo from the
cargo tank bulkheads.
All necessary precautions should be taken to prevent the washing oil from solidifying in the
COW piping system.
Light Crudes
Light crudes, which are likely to result in excessive gas evolution if used for COW, have a
potentially serious impact on the environment if used.
With light cargoes the COW procedure can justifiably be cut down to a bottom wash only in
appropriate tanks, certainly in the tanks which will be used only for dirty ballast. The tanks
which will be used for clean ballast need to be carefully considered. Where the port for the next
loading is known and where all the ballast must go ashore then a bottom wash only will again
be acceptable. Where clean arrival ballast for the next load port must be discharged overboard, a
more cautious approach must be adopted to avoid the significant risk of a pollution incident.
In all events the priority criteria is to ensure that the ships nominated clean ballast tanks are
washed as effectively as possible to minimise any pollution risk.
A number of crude oil carriers trading at present are conventional with some of the tanks being
devoted to carrying cargo and on ballast voyages clean or dirty ballast. MARPOL73/78, Annex 1,
Reg. 13B states that, ballast water is only put into cargo tanks which have been crude oil
washed and also requires that every tanker operating with COW systems shall be provided with
an Operations & Equipment Manual detailing the system and equipment, specifying operational
procedures. The procedures only give details for washing using full cycles; the implication being
that bottom wash only is not acceptable. With conventional tankers the extent that COW can
be reduced is limited.

Conventional tankers are gradually being replaced by Segregated Ballast Tankers (SBT). Every
tanker for which the building contract was placed after 1 st June, 1979 or delivered after the 1 st
June, 1982 is required to be fitted with protectively located ballast tanks and to be fitted for COW.
With the exception of the gale ballast tank(s) these tankers do not have to perform COW except
for the control of sludge. The degree of control that can be exercised over COW is therefore
much greater but will still be dependant upon whether the ship is fitted with programmable COW
machines.
COW is dependant on a number of factors namely, pour point, wax appearance point, viscosity,
percentage of wax of the cargo and whether the cargo is to be carried in Summer or Winter. The
type of ship is also to be taken into consideration.
Cargo Heating is largely dependant upon the pour point and viscosity of the cargo and, again if
the cargo is to be transported in Summer or Winter. In some cases the slop tank contents are
heated to a higher temperature than the rest of the cargo and used for COW to remove waxes.
The attached Carriage Temperature and COW Requirements (Requirements) gives the
characteristics of each crude, as well as guidelines on the minimum carriage temperature and
COW requirements, depending upon whether the cargo is carried aboard a single skinned
conventional or SBT tanker or a double skinned SBT Tanker, in Winter or Summer. The COW
requirements are coded for single or double skinned tankers.
Heating and COW recommendations have been arrived at relative to a set of properties compiled
from assay information submitted by the Crude Oil Assay unit at Sunbury Research Centre. It
should be recognised that any results reported in the Requirements only reflect the quality of a
single sample of the crude oil and will not indicate trends in the change of quality over time. The
date of the last assay for each crude oil is shown in the Requirements.
Also included in these tables is a column for the quantity of H 2S in each crude oil. This is the
amount in ppm of H2S in the liquid oil. In vapour the amount of H 2S is equivalent to about 50
100 times the amount of H2S in liquid.
It is recommended that the Oil Trading Cargo Assurance (gbgcargoassurance@bp.com) team be
contacted for advice on COW and heating of crude oils not normally carried or if there is any
doubt on the suitability of the instructions given to the ship.
As mentioned above the codes are listed for Summer and Winter. As a general guide as to
whether the crude is being carried or discharged in Winter or Summer the world can be divided
into the following zones: Northern Hemisphere (North of the Tropic of Cancer). Summer, 1 st April to 30th September.
Winter, 1st October to 31st March.
Southern Hemisphere (South of the Tropic of Capricorn). Summer, 1 st October to 31st March.
Winter, 1st April to 30th September.
The COW and heating codes for cargoes carried or discharged in the area between the Tropic
of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn can be obtained from the Summer section of the
Requirements.
If in doubt the worst-case scenario should be chosen and the codes obtained from the Winter
section of the Requirements.
The Requirements are guidelines only, especially as far as COW is concerned. The person on
the spot can assess whether COW is effective or not or whether COW needs to be performed
even if the Requirements state that no COW is necessary. For example North Sea crudes are
moderately waxy (Brent for example) and on short voyages in Summer COW need not be
performed, but if the voyage is long then wax may settle out of the cargo and a bottom wash will
have to be performed. In these cases dips will need to be taken of the wax/sediments remaining
after the cargo tanks have been emptied to determine whether COW is necessary.

Pre-Chartering Stage
Before a ship is chartered the following information should be obtained: -

a}

That the COW and Inert Gas systems are operational according to the International/National
regulations. This also applies to the Inert Gas monitors which record inert gas pressure and
oxygen content. In many ports if the monitors are not working properly the ship will be
forbidden to COW until the monitors are repaired.

b}

Whether the ship is SBT and/or double skinned; this will decide the level of COW required.

c}

Whether the ship is fitted with programmable or non-programmable COW machines.

With respect to high RVP cargoes, performing a full COW with non-programmable machines
would generate unacceptable levels of hydrocarbon gas which would cause a higher than normal
loss on outturn.

d}

If the ship was cleaned for dry-dock/repairs and/or carriage of dry bulk cargo or if the ship is new.
Chartering ships on maiden voyages or ships that have been totally cleaned must be avoided as
some cargo will be lost in making these ships dirty again. The amount of cargo lost making a
VLCC dirty again is about 400 tonnes, depending on the quality of the crude oil.

Re-Chartering of Ships
If possible and economic, plans should be made to re-charter a ship to carry a light
crude/condensate or heated cargo immediately after carrying a high pour/viscous cargo. It is
inevitable that excess crude oil (ROB) will be left on a ship after a high pour/viscous cargo and
rather than lose this ROB to other oil traders the ROB could be recovered to boost the outturn of
the next voyage.

Crude Oil Washing

4.1

General
The main disadvantage of COW, the generation of hydrocarbon gas, is well known and is given
due consideration in formulating any COW policy. A second disadvantage of COW has not been
so readily appreciated, since it only affects the receiving terminal and then only after a number of
cargoes have been received. COW operations were adopted to reduce ships ROB quantities. Part
of the gain in outturn comprises non-hydrocarbon components such as sand and shale etc. which
are abrasive and therefore have a detrimental effect on the internals of pipes, valves and fittings
in that wear is accelerated and which leads to increased maintenance costs. Furthermore oil is
associated with the sand/shale particles and during cleaning/water draining operations of
shoretanks this is pumped into the separator system as the first stage effluent treatment. The
effect is to rapidly block the separator system and adversely affect the treatment plant.

4.2

Charterers Representative
When a Charterers Representative has been appointed to expedite cargo, then the ships
personnel must liase with the Charterers Representative with regards to COW and the discharge
operation of the cargo.

4.3

COW Washing Medium

Marpol recommends that when performing COW that cargo tanks are washed with fresh crude
and not with re-cycled crude from the slop tanks. The term fresh crude means crude that has

not previously been used for COW. Re-cycled crude being crude oil that has been repeatedly
used to wash the ships tanks. The exception is high pour point/waxy cargoes where the slop tank
contents are heated, to a higher temperature than the rest of the cargo, and used for COW to
assist in the removal of waxes. The crude oils that require this special treatment are shown in the
attached Carriage Temperature and COW Requirements.
4.4

Backloading Cutter Stock

It may be advantageous, when laytime is taken into account and availability permits, to backload
cutter stock onto a ship if there are large amounts of wax/sediments remaining. A light crude
could also be used, but unless there are significant amounts of wax/sediments remaining it is
likely that more light ends would be lost with the action of COW than cargo recovered. It is also
advantageous if the cutter stock, which is usually gas oil or kerosene, is heated which will
assist with the removal of waxes.
In the attached Requirements there are only a few crude oils that are noted as being required to
be washed with cutter stock, notably among them is Widuri, which is a high pour point crude
with a high wax content. Heated cutter stock has been used successfully to COW cargo tanks
that have contained Widuri. On these occasions the cargo tanks were discharged down to a dip of
one metre and then left, with the heating on, till the tanks could be COWed. Each tank was then
stripped and COWed successively, with good results. It was also found that the COW guns
should be programmed to wash the bottom of the tank first so as to clear the draining holes of
wax otherwise a build up of washing oil occurred.
Before backloading of cutter stock is considered careful consideration must be given to the
following points: whether the cutter stock is off-spec material which has to be re-processed. If the cutter
stock is not off-spec then the cost of re-processing it may be high in relation to the quantity
and quality of the cargo recovered from the ships cargo tanks. Careful consideration must
also be given to the accurate measurement of cutter stock loaded to the ship and the
resultant mixture of cutter stock/waxes discharged from the ship.
the quantity of valuable ROB. There would be no point in performing this operation just to
clean the cargo tanks of sandy sediments.
whether the ship is discharging at a BP installation. It would be highly unlikely if cutter
stock could be backloaded at third party installations unless the seller was willing to pay
prohibitive costs for berth time, re-processing or chartering of barges.
normally COW is performed as the cargo is being discharged. It is possible that cutter stock
could be loaded after say the slop tanks have been discharged, and then used to wash tanks
during the discharge. But if the cargo is fully discharged and the cutter stock then
backloaded for COW, then this operation will take considerably longer and the resulting
demurrage may well be prohibitive in relation to the waxes/sediments recovered.
whether a suitable cutter stock is available. The times when this material is available
and, if available, used for COW, if costs and time are taken into account, are very few. It is
recommended that this operation is not performed unless the economics of the situation have
been carefully assessed.

If COW of waxy/high pour point crude oils is not performed then these crude oils should be
treated in the same way as fuel oil cargoes. Each cargo tank should be taken down to a dip of one
metre and then left, with the heating on, until that tank is ready to be stripped. Stripping of the

tanks should be carried out tank by tank, making sure that each tank is well stripped before
passing on to the next tank. The trim during stripping should be the maximum that can be safely
attained and which is the most efficient for the stripping of tanks. Each tank should be restripped, whilst the tanks are fairly warm, so that oil which has run down the sides of the tanks
can be recovered.
4.5

On several occasions, when monitoring a discharge, Marine Supervisors have noticed that gas
has been vented off during the discharge because the inert gas pressure has been too high. On
each occasion the ships personnel have been requested to close the mast riser and to recirculate
the inert gas or, if this is not possible, to shut off the inert gas fan. During discharge the mast
riser, or other vents, should not and indeed need not be opened. Any gas generated by COW
should remain within the ullage spaces and mixed with the inert gas. Gas vented off, especially
during COW, means a substantial loss of light ends and will also be offensive to
environmentalists. Masters of BP chartered ships must be advised by the chartering department
and by BP representatives attending the discharge that, except in an emergency, the mast riser
and/or other vents must be kept closed for the whole of the discharge, including COW. The Inert
Gas pressure should be adjusted such that excessive pressures are not generated. For dipping of
tanks during COW and stripping small vapour lock valves and/or deck plugs must be used.

Instructions to Ships Masters

To help maximise outturns, the Charterer or cargo owners representative must liase with the
ships Master/Chief Officer to achieve the following: Previous Cargo;
The cargo representative must ascertain the type of cargo carried and
the washing performed for the previous voyage. This information will determine the COW to
be carried out on the present voyage. Even if the crude carried on the present voyage is light
and requires no COW, as per the Requirements, if the last cargo had been heavy with a
large amount of waxy ROB/OBQ then it may be worthwhile performing a bottom wash or
even a full COW with the lighter crude.
Trim;
To achieve effective stripping of the cargo tanks a good trim must be
maintained during COW and stripping of the tanks. Excessive trim can be as detrimental as
too little trim. If the tank suctions are away from the centre line of the tank then the ship
should also be listed so that the oil flows towards the tank suctions.
Draining;
During COW a slight build up of washing oil is normal and to some extent
even desirable. This oil carries the wax and sediments to the tank suctions. It is the degree of
build up that has to be controlled. If the depth of oil at the after end of the tank exceeds 30
cms then COW should be suspended and the tank drained.
Stripping;
Light low pour crude oils;
After COW or stripping the tanks for the first time, the cargo
tanks should be left for as long as possible for run down to occur and then stripped again.
Even if time is short the tanks should be stripped at least twice.
If the crude is viscous but with a low pour point the oil will take a long time to reach the tank
suction and in these cases it is better to wait for as long as possible before stripping the tanks for
the final time.
Heavy high pour crude oils;
If COW is performed then the tanks should be stripped
immediately after COW or when first emptied and stripped again shortly after whilst the tank is
still warm.
Slop Tanks; To avoid performing COW with slops, the ships staffs are to be instructed to
discharge the slop tanks first and then to refill them with fresh oil.

COW Feed Tank;

The COW feed tank (normally the slop tank) should be heated up to 10C
above the average cargo temperature for the COW of high pour/waxy cargoes. The crude oils that require
extra heating of the COW oil are listed in the attached Requirements.