CRUDE OIL

The aim of this project was to evaluate the effectiveness of the crude oil Quality Assurance (QA) system at the NNPC E&P Ltd Oil & Gas Processing Facility/Utapete Crude Oil Export Terminal by analyzing its process stability. Maintaining the quality assurance of crude oil at export terminals is critical for preserving product value, ensuring customer satisfaction, and complying with contractual and environmental standards. This evaluation was necessary to determine if the production process was in a state of statistical control, which is essential for ensuring predictable and reliable export quality. The methodology employed Statistical Process Control (SPC) techniques to analyze the data. Specifically, laboratory data for two key quality parameters—API Gravity and Basic Sediments & Water (BS&W)—were collected for a two-month period encompassing July and August 2025. The data was subsequently analyzed using (mean) and (range) control charts to statistically assess the central tendency and the consistency of the production process, respectively. The analysis revealed that the process averages (X bar-charts) for both API Gravity and BS&W were highly unstable and out of statistical control, with numerous data points exceeding the upper and lower control limits. This instability signifies that the process is unpredictable and influenced by significant special (assignable) cause variation. Conversely, the process variability (R-charts),which reflects the consistency of measurement and sampling,was found to be largely stable and in-control. This study concludes that the terminal's production process is not in statistical control, leading to a high risk of producing non-conforming crude oil, and demonstrates an urgent need to investigate the root causes of instability in the production and blending operations, rather than the laboratory procedures.

Crude oil spills in Nigeria poison farmland, killing plants and microbes while adding dangerous hydrocarbons and heavy metals that hurt crops and human health. This study tests a low-cost, eco-friendly fix using fermented whey from guinea grass (Panicum maximum) leaves to boost soil microbes that eat oil. The aim was to see how well this whey cleans oil-polluted soil by cutting total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) and restoring soil quality. The scope included collecting leaves (Panicum maximum) from University of Benin sports complex, processing the leaves into whey and fermenting the whey at various periods for twelve days. The whey samples were further characterized to further determine pH, electrical conductivity, moisture, organic matter, carbon, nitrate, phosphate, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and microbial counts to evaluate the whey with the best potential with respect to fermentation time—day 12 with pH 5.74, EC 4804 µS/cm, TOC 67.27%, nitrate 394.17 mg/kg, and high microbial growth (819 CFU/ml at 10⁻¹). Bioremediation potential of the whey was evaluated by treating agricultural soil. The day-12 whey results showed that soil treated with 200 ml was best, raising pH from 5.21 to 7.19, nitrogen from 19.10 to 27.18 mg/kg, phosphorus from 12.65 to 14.98 mg/kg, potassium from 6.23 to 12.45 mg/kg. TPH results showed that hexatriacontane rose to 1.17mg/L increased in the treated soil compared to the untreated contaminated soil, indicating its formation as a biodegradation intermediate during the breakdown of heavier hydrocarbons. Hexatriacontane showed a significant reduction to 0.05mg/L after whey treatment, demonstrating effective microbial attack on heavy hydrocarbon fractions. Heavy metals analysis indicates a significant reduction in metal concentration as in iron from 45.67mg/kg to 32.45mg/kg, zinc 18.90 mg/kg to 12.34 mg/kg copper 7.56 mg/kg to 5.12 mg/kg. Day 12 fermented Panicum maximum whey gave the best remediation potential.

This study investigated the effect of water soluble fractions of crude oil on the growth of Monoraphidium contortum and Dimorphococcus lunatus over a 14 day period. The test algae were grown in concentrations of CHU 10 nutrient media mixed with varying concentrations of WSF of crude oil (5%,10%, 25%, 50%, 75% 100%) which were prepared in triplicates. The growth response was measured using a visible spectrophotometer at two day intervals over a 14 day period. Physicochemical parameters (pH, EC, and TDS) were assessed on day 14 of the experiment and were compared to the stock concentration before exposure to the test microalgae. The results showed that there was growth stimulation for all concentrations of 0%, 5%,10%, 25%, 50%,75%, and 100% from day 0 to day 2, and a lag phase from day 2 to day 4 for 10% and 100%. The highest growth was recorded at 5% concentration on day 14
with an absorbance value of 0.035, followed closely by 100%, 50%, and 75% concentrations, while 10% WSF showed the least growth on day 14 with an absorbance value of 0.02. Statistically, the growth response of the microalgae to the WSF concentrations did not differ significantly (p > 0.005). Generally the percentage yield was higher in M.contortum compared to D.lunatus. The physicochemical properties of Dimorphococcus lunatus and onoraphidium contortum showed that when the quantity of WSF was reduced, both TDS and electrical conductivity rose. On the other hand, the pH revealed that it was somewhat more alkaline with a lower WSF concentration, suggesting acidity with a higher WSF. To summarize, Dimorphococcus lunatus exhibited a strong inhibitory reaction, and Monoraphidium contortum is better suited for bioremediation of crude oil in contaminated water.