Qa3 capability statement (2015)

Analytical Services

Registered Office: Griffins Court, 24-32 London Road, Newbury, Berkshire, RG14 1JX Registered in England, no. 07551702. VAT Reg. no. GB 109 3388 10

Page 1 of 12 Capability Statement

Capability Statement On-site Chemistry

Analytical Consultancy Training Services

Qa³ Limited Unit 3

The Calvert Centre Woodmancott

Winchester Hampshire SO21 3BN

United Kingdom

Tel: +44 (0) 1256 397390 E-mail: [email protected]

www.qa3.co.uk

Analytical Services

January 2015 Page 2 of 12 Capability Statement

Contents

1 Introduction ..................................................................................................... 3

2 Quality ............................................................................................................. 4

3 Safety ............................................................................................................... 4

4 Principle On-site Capabilities ........................................................................... 5

5 Additional Analytical Capabilities .................................................................... 8

6 Other Services ................................................................................................. 9

7 Pricing Policies and Availability ....................................................................... 9

8 Clients and Areas Worked ............................................................................. 10

9 Contact Us ..................................................................................................... 11

10 Notes ............................................................................................................. 12

Analytical Services


1 Introduction

Qa³ Limited was formed as an independent company in 2011 providing quality analytical solutions, training and method development to all sectors. Qa³ specialise in the delivery of technical advice, consultancy services and on-site chemical analysis to the oil and gas industry, both onshore and offshore, in the UK and throughout the World.

The Qa³ senior consultants were founders and owners of Analytical Data Services Ltd (ADS) which was formed in 1995, acquiring part of the British Petroleum analytical facility at Sunbury UK.

Since 2011, Qa3 has expanded rapidly using internationally recognised experts in the provision of on-site analytical services with particular focus on trace component analysis including, but not limited to; mercury, sulfur species, oxygen, arsine and radon. Qa3 have a considerable portfolio of global projects in addition to UK based training and consultancy work.

Qa3 draw from their combined 80+ years of experience and expertise for on-site chemistry enabling them to offer the highest standard of services with emphasis on quality and client satisfaction. Qa3 endeavour to utilise professionalism, dynamic assessment and safe working practises in all aspects of their activities.

All Qa3 personnel carry a drive and commitment to deliver the very best service for the client from the initial understanding of requirements, the planning and troubleshooting stages through to the execution of the job culminating in a thorough technical report. The Qa3 UK support team is always on hand to offer advice and solutions to field personnel meaning that whilst only two specialists maybe working in the field, at least four people are challenging the data, guaranteeing the best course of action on-site.

Mass balance mercury studies undertaken

across Africa

Desire to maintain professional excellence

in all work activities

Offshore and onshore analytical surveys in the

Middle East

Ongoing technical support to gas plants and oil refineries in

Europe

Training in specialist analytical methodologies

across the world

Consultancy services to several IOC’s and many NOC’s

Analytical Services


2 Quality

Qa3 personnel strive to maintain professional excellence in all their activities. The company recognises that this is achievable and can be maintained only by:

Understanding client requirements and meeting their performance expectations through rigorous work planning and effective communication.

Employing capable and competent personnel who have a strong commitment to continual improvement in order to provide top quality services to all clients.

Using a traceable quality management system that implements established and proven QC procedures in both the UK laboratory and in the field.

3 Safety

Safety is integral to all Qa3 activities. Personnel employ a culture of safety whenever and wherever they are working whether this be the UK laboratory and offices or when deployed to client’s sites or offshore installations.

Qa3 ensure that all statutory and legislative requirements are met through the correct implementation of COSHH and Risk Assessment. Qa3 personnel who perform on-site work hold as a minimum BOSIET, MIST and offshore medical certification. Qa3 take pride in their approach to work, constantly performing dynamic risk assessments to ensure all work activities are being carried out as safely as possible.

Staff safety training is provided (for example, compressed gas handling, manual handling, fire training, DSE) and is fully documented and traceable through Qa3 training records and quality management system.

Analytical Services


4 Principle On-site Capabilities

Natural gas, condensate and oil produced from an underground reservoir will always contain certain non-hydrocarbon components and trace elements. These constituents may be considered as impurities or contamination of the hydrocarbons and must be quantified accurately prior to field development.

Some constituents are non-combustible and of no economic value, while others are corrosive, resulting in a requirement for special design and materials in processing and transportation systems. Others may be environmentally unfriendly, poisonous, or simply dilute the hydrocarbon fraction thereby reducing the calorific value. Even at trace concentrations the non-hydrocarbon components can cause significant implications.

The most important non-hydrocarbon constituents in petroleum fluids are:

Sulfur compounds (hydrogen sulphide, mercaptans, carbonyl sulphide etc.)

Non-combustible gases (nitrogen, carbon dioxide, helium, argon etc.)

Mercury

Oxygen

Other heavy metals

Radionuclides

Moisture (in gas phase)

Formation water

Chemical compounds arising from chemical injection (methanol, glycol, scale inhibitors etc).

The quality of the oil and gas, defined in terms of the concentrations of the natural impurities can have a strong influence on the market price.

Obtaining reliable, accurate data for non-hydrocarbons requires a detailed knowledge of the chemistry of the species of interest. Many components have a tendency to adsorb onto surfaces (e.g. sampling lines and sample containers) resulting in erroneously low concentrations in the samples. Other components, such as radionuclides, water pH and bicarbonate may be affected by delays in the analysis and must therefore be determined either on-site or be preserved for off-site analysis. In addition, sampling regimens and procedures often need to be tailored on site to suit the analyte concentrations found, which may vary significantly from one geographical location to another or even from field to field in the same vicinity.

Mercury Qa3 have become recognised global experts in the determination of mercury in produced hydrocarbon fluids (gas, gas condensate, crude oil, produced waters and particulate). Processing of gases and oils that contain mercury can be problematic and needs to be monitored and managed on an ongoing basis. The three major areas for concern resulting from the presence of mercury are liquid metal embrittlement (corrosion), catalytic poisoning and environmental issues (including potential worker exposure).

Analytical Services


As a consequence of the issues arising from the presence of mercury, even at trace concentrations, it is common to find mercury specifications imposed on pipelines and feedstocks to gas plants, refineries and petrochemical plants. Historically, specifications were applied to gases only; however, strict stipulations are now being imposed on liquids.

Qa3 has extensive experience conducting cross plant mercury surveys, giving clients a clear picture of mercury partitioning, accumulation and losses across a process. Monitoring of mercury removal bed performance and prediction of bed life is also a service regularly conducted by Qa3.

Qa³ can provide this service on-site in accordance with ISO 6978 (modified) (ASTM D5954) for gases, ASTM D7623 (modified) for hydrocarbon liquids and EPA 7473 (modified) for aqueous samples (including methanol, amine and glycols).

Mercury in produced fluids during well testing

Mercury in gases and produced liquids at offshore installations

Mercury mass balance across gas and oil processing plants

Mercury removal bed performance

Atmospheric monitoring during plant shutdowns

Oxygen The presence of oxygen is undesirable in produced hydrocarbon gas as it promotes several corrosion mechanisms in both sour and sweet gas producing wells. For this reason, it is common to find an oxygen specification as low as 9 ppm (µL/L).

Qa3 have developed a portable at line analyser capable of determining oxygen in hydrocarbon gas down to low ppm levels (1ppm LOQ) which complies with ASTM D7607-11. To our knowledge Qa3 are the only company able to offer this service on site at our clients processing plants both onshore and offshore.

The oxygen concentration in a gas sample is measured by comparing the electrical signal produced by an unknown sample with that of a known standard using an oxygen specific electrochemical sensor.

Radon Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM) usually present at trace levels in natural gas. The radon migrates into the gas from the formation rock surrounding the reservoir. Radon-222 (222Rn) has a half-life of 3.82 days and it is therefore crucial to determine its activity on site.

Qa3 perform on-site Radon activity determinations by alpha spectrometry. The achievable LOD for Radon activity in natural gases is 30 Bq/m3. Whilst the quantification of radon activity provides an early indication of potential NORM levels within the production system, in order to draw firm conclusions this analysis is usually carried out in conjunction with sampling of additional stabilised fluids for subsequent NORM determination at a specialist radioanalytical laboratory facility.

Analytical Services


Arsine Qa3 prepares bespoke arsine traps through which gas from a process line can be passed, trapping all arsenic species selectively. These traps are then returned to the UK for analysis by ICP-OES and/or ICP-MS for total arsenic species (expressed as total arsine). The achievable LOD is directly proportional to the volume of gas sampled. Typically 20 L of gas can achieve an LOD of ~2 - 5 µg/m3.

If required, arsine speciation can also be carried out to determine arsine and alkyl arsines, including dimethyl arsine and trimethyl arsine. The determination of arsine in gas is usually carried out in conjunction with the quantification of total arsenic in the associated fluid (condensate, oil or water). Thus, stabilised fluid samples are generally returned to the UK for analysis together with the arsine traps. Arsenic speciation on condensates is also possible.

Sulfur Species Qa3 currently offer on-site determination of sulfur species including hydrogen sulfide, mercaptans and carbonyl sulfide by Gas Chromatography (GC) using an in house developed portable system (other volatile sulfur compounds can be quantified where required). The quantification of these species in liquids matrices may be accommodated by employing purge methodology. Gas samples are taken into Tedlar gas bags, pressurised oils are taken into coated cylinders to minimise adsorption of the volatile species onto the internal surfaces of the cylinder.

To complement the GC methodology Qa3 can also perform determination of hydrogen sulfide and total mercaptans by stain detector tubes. To afford direct comparison with historical data some clients require the application of and adherence to long standing, traditional methods such as UOP 212, double bomb method and Tutwiler. Qa3 have considerable experience with these methods and offer them as alternative on-site techniques or as a supplementary service to confer robustness on the sulfur species data.

Moisture in Gas The measurement of moisture in natural gas and its processed products is often required at various stages of the production, processing, storage and transportation. If gas (containing moisture) is then cooled or comes in contact with a surface that is colder than the prevailing water dew point temperature of the gas, water will condense in the form of liquid or ice if cooled sufficiently. Under pressure, water also has the unique property of being able to form what are known as solid hydrates, these are lattice structure around hydrocarbons. Ice or solid hydrates can cause blockage in pipelines. In addition, water combines with gases such as hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and carbon dioxide (CO2) to form corrosive acids. Qa3 determine the moisture content of gas by electronic moisture analyser employing a silicon capacitance type cell, in accordance with ASTM D5454-11; using a methane gas standard with a certified water content of 20 ppm v/v as a quality control (QC) in order to validate the calibration line.

Analytical Services


Specialist Sampling Qa3 understand the importance of representative sampling and the impact that incorrect sampling can have upon the integrity of the sample and subsequent data. Qa3 have strict sampling regimens to which they always adhere, in order to minimise contamination and ensure that the samples taken are as representative of the fluid in the line as possible. These involve flushing the sampling line and sample point including all valves and fixtures for an appropriate time period. In addition, it may also involve flushing the sampling vessels. It is our standard practise to take a number of samples spanning the sampling period available in order observe any trends in the concentration of the analyte(s) of interest.

Dynamic Assessment The philosophy Qa3 personnel operate to is ‘quality and excellence in all work activities’. To offer the highest quality of service, Qa3 understand the importance of dynamically assessing the task at hand including the analytical data produced, on an ongoing basis. By performing dynamic assessments of the task, Qa3 ensure they work as safely as possible and as efficiently as possible. Instead of just producing data, Qa3 chemists will interpret the data acquired and from this decide the best course of action for the remainder of the work.

5 Additional Analytical Capabilities (Please contact us for more information)

On-site Chemistry Oilfield water characterisation: pH, alkalinity, chloride, sulfate, nitrate etc.

Carbon dioxide in gas

Moisture in gas

Water in oil

Oil in water

Sulfur reducing bacteria (SRB)

On-site Sampling For total arsine species in gas

For sulfur isotope determination

For client specific chemistry requirements

From PVT separator

From SPS wellhead

Off-site NORM determination of liquids

Comprehensive water characterisation

Determination of heavy metals in oil and water

Corrosion investigations

Analytical Services


6 Other Services

ICP Training Perkin Elmer have been a major analytical instrument supplier for the last 75 years, and are leaders in ICP technology, offering both sequential and simultaneous Optima™ ICP-OES spectrometers. Qa3 consultants provide training packages on behalf of Perkin Elmer; these can either be at the Perkin Elmer training facility or at customer sites, according to preference.

Technical Auditing / Expert Witnessing

Qa3 senior members have experience in technical auditing and expert witnessing in a number of disciplines including ICP, water chemistry and general laboratory techniques. They have also acted as expert witnesses in a number of high profile oil spill incidents in Australia, all of which resulted in successful outcomes for the client.

7 Pricing Policies and Availability

On-site Work Due to the time required to prepare and dispatch equipment, obtain necessary legal paperwork and optimise work scopes, Qa3, where possible, asks for a minimum of one month’s notice before undertaking any on-site work. The price for on-site work is based upon the following criteria:

Location of work

Complexity of work

Number of personnel required and duration of work

Length of time equipment is on rental

Quantity of offsite analysis required

Consultancy / Training Qa3 adopt a flexible, client focused approach and always aim to work to client timescales; however, a minimum of four to five working days’ notice for consultancy or training work is generally necessary in order to prepare The price for such work is based upon the number of days required and frequency (one-off/weekly/monthly). Consultancy services can be provided at our facilities or at the client’s site.

Method Development As this can often be carried out ‘in house’, Qa3 often do not require much notice of work, however, if the client requires exclusivity from Qa3 staff, then five working days may be required. The pricing for method development depends upon the complexity of sample matrix and work undertaken, presence of interfering species, quality system requirements and working hours required.

If the work scope is reduced at the client’s request or due to some unforeseen circumstance, the final costing of work will reflect this as it is Qa3 policy to charge only for the work that is carried out.

Analytical Services


As every job is unique, clients are encouraged to contact Qa3 for information on bespoke pricing and availability.

8 Clients and Areas Worked

Qa3’s client list includes major oil and gas companies, crude oil refining companies, environmental monitoring companies and agencies, oil industry service companies, pharmaceutical and specialised chemical companies. Qa3 also performs work for and alongside, several universities, research institutions, independent consultants, and specialised scientific and electronic equipment manufacturers.

Qa3 consultants have completed projects in the following locations (offshore and onshore):

Europe - Belgium, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Turkey, England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales

Africa - Algeria, Angola, Benin, Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania, Tunisia Caucasus - Azerbaijan Central Asia - Kazakhstan Middle East - Oman, Kuwait, Qatar Far East - Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand Australasia - Australia, Papua New Guinea South America - Brazil Caribbean - Trinidad

Analytical Services


9 Contact Us

If you have any questions on the services that Qa3 can offer please do not hesitate to contact us. For many of our services we have information sheets that discuss and describe bespoke subject matter and analytical applications in detail; please contact us if you would like to receive any additional information about a specific service.

Qa³ Limited

Unit 3, The Calvert Centre Woodmancott Winchester Hampshire SO21 3BN United Kingdom

Telephone: +44 (0) 1256 397390 E-mail: [email protected] Web site: www.qa3.co.uk

http://www.qa3.co.uk/

Analytical Services


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Documents

Qa3 capability statement (2015)