Tatneft develops technology for cleaning oil from hydrogen sulfide in pipelines, intends to begin using it in 2026

MOSCOW. Sept 11 (Interfax) - PJSC Tatneft plans to implement technology for cleaning oil from hydrogen sulfide during transportation in pipelines in 2026, the company's in-house publication, Neftyanye Vesti, said.

Tatneft produces oil in conditions of constant growth in the share of heavy high-sulfur oil with increased viscosity. Since government standard (GOST) 2002 limits the mass share of hydrogen sulfide in commercial oil, the company is interested in creating new methods for removing H2S at minimal cost. Existing technologies for cleaning oil from hydrogen sulfide require expensive equipment, namely a special reactor, separation units, and reagents.

Specialists at Tatneft's petroleum research and development institute have developed a technology by which the cleaning process occurs directly in the oil pipeline that acts as a reactor. High-concentration oxygen and a catalyst based on a derivative of cobalt phthalocyanine in a 25% ammonia solution are utilized. The method's particular feature is that oxygen, rather than air, is fed into the oil, after which the raw material purified from hydrogen sulfide goes directly to the metering and delivery unit.

A pilot project was launched at Nurlatneft's Kamenka ultra-viscous oil treatment plant after conducting laboratory experiments in 2023. The test results showed that it is possible to clean oil from hydrogen sulfide at over 90% when implementing the process.

"Compared to the expensive oil cleaning unit for hydrogen sulfide currently operating at the Kutema high-sulfur oil treatment plant, the net discounted income from the scientists' development is 120 million rubles per year. The technology should pay for itself in fewer than two-and-a-half-months at this comparison," according to the article in Neftyanye Vesti.