TY - DATA AU - Warren,Kenneth W. AU - Armstrong,John AU - Armstrong,John ED - NATCO Group ED - NATCO Group TI - Desalting heavy crude oils: The Venezuelan experience KW - Tratamiento de petróleo crudo KW - Tratamiento de petróleos pesados KW - Desalación N1 - Publicado en el sitio web de NATCO GROUP, donde pueden consultarse otros artículos sobre temas relacionados. ; Navegadores de Internet ; Adobe Acrobat (PDF) N2 - Dehydration of heavy crude oils presents unique challenges due to high viscosity, the presence of suspended solids and semi-soluble components, and the limited differential density for driving the sedimentation-based separation. Desalting these oils adds the complexities of mixing requirements that can produce stable dispersions and the use of fresh wash water that greatly reduces the available differential density. Venezuelan producers have recently begun exploitation of the very heavy crude oils of the Orinoco Tar Belt. This paper examines experiences in dehydration and desalting of these oils at four different sites incorporating sixteen units. Lessons learned regarding overall process requirements, suitable controls, desalter/dehydrator configurations, and operating conditions are discussed UR - http://www.natcogroup.com/PDFContent/Consulting-Research/TechnicalPapers/Desalting%20Heavy%20Crude%20Oils%20-%20The%20Venezuelan%20Experience.pdf ER -