Crude Oil and Heavy Fuel Oil Testing in Saudi Arabia

Understand your feedstock. Verify fuel quality. Make informed refining and operating decisions.

Environmental Testing and Laboratories Company (ETLCO) provides crude oil and heavy fuel oil analysis to support refineries, fuel suppliers, storage terminals, and industrial energy users across Saudi Arabia.

Our Oil & Gas Laboratory helps clients characterize feedstocks, assess product quality, investigate contamination, and evaluate properties relevant to processing, storage, handling, and combustion.

Whether you are assessing a crude oil supply or checking heavy fuel oil before use, we tailor the testing scope to your product, intended application, and agreed specifications.

Crude Oil Analysis

Better Feedstock Information for Refinery Decisions

Crude oils differ in composition and physical properties. Understanding these differences helps refinery teams assess feedstock suitability and identify characteristics that may affect processing and product recovery.

ETLCO provides testing to support crude oil characterization, incoming quality checks, and investigations into feedstock variability.

Our analysis helps clients:

• Assess density and API gravity for feedstock characterization.

• Evaluate sulfur content, acidity, and elemental composition.

• Identify water, salts, and sediment that may require attention before processing.

• Assess viscosity and low-temperature flow characteristics.

• Examine asphaltenes and carbon residue as part of a broader evaluation of processing behavior.

• Compare analytical results across deliveries or potential feedstocks.

These results provide valuable inputs for refinery evaluations, blending studies, and operational planning.

Heavy Fuel Oil Analysis

Check Fuel Quality Before Storage, Transfer, or Use

Heavy fuel oil quality can influence pumping, heating requirements, combustion performance, and residue formation. ETLCO helps industrial users and suppliers assess the properties relevant to their equipment and operating conditions.

Testing supports:

• Verification against purchasing and fuel specifications.

• Assessment of viscosity and handling characteristics.

• Determination of heating value for energy calculations.

• Measurement of sulfur, ash, and elemental constituents.

• Detection of water and sediment contamination.

• Investigation of fuel-related operating concerns.

Our services support heavy fuel oil applications in industrial boilers, furnaces, and power generation equipment designed for these fuels.

Our Crude Oil and Heavy Fuel Oil Testing Capabilities

ETLCO offers a range of analyses selected according to the sample type, intended use, and applicable test method. Not every parameter is appropriate for both crude oil and heavy fuel oil.

Density and API Gravity

Density and API gravity testing help characterize crude oil and fuel products, compare batches, and support quantity calculations.

Viscosity and Flow Properties

Kinematic viscosity, Saybolt viscosity, and pour point testing provide information relevant to pumping, transfer, storage, and low-temperature handling.

Heating Value

Heating value analysis determines the energy content of fuel, supporting fuel comparisons and operational energy calculations.

Sulfur and Elemental Analysis

Testing includes sulfur by energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence (ED-XRF), elemental analysis, and mercaptan sulfur where applicable. These results support product characterization and assessment against agreed specifications.

Acidity and Corrosiveness

Total acid number measures acidic constituents, while copper strip corrosion testing assesses corrosiveness under specified test conditions, where appropriate to the product and method.

Ash, Carbon Residue, and Asphaltenes

These tests help characterize inorganic residue, carbon residue-forming tendency, and asphaltene content. Results support a broader assessment of feedstock quality and potential processing or combustion concerns.

Water and Sediment

Water content, sediment, and combined water and sediment testing help identify contamination that may affect product quality, handling, and processing.

Salts in Crude Oil

Salt content testing supports the assessment of crude oil quality and feedstock treatment needs before refining.

Flash and Fire Points

Flash point testing provides information relevant to fuel handling and storage. Fire point testing may also be included where a suitable method and product requirement apply.

Additional Product-Specific Testing

Electrical conductivity, gum content, and vapor pressure testing can be considered where suitable for the sample and specification. Requests for Reid vapor pressure or other specific methods are reviewed to confirm their applicability to the submitted product.

Testing Services for Your Operation

Incoming Feedstock and Fuel Acceptance

Assess crude oil or heavy fuel oil deliveries against agreed quality requirements. A defined testing program helps identify variations before the material enters processing or operational use.

Refinery Feedstock Evaluation

Obtain analytical data to support the assessment of crude oil properties and potential processing concerns. Results can inform further engineering evaluations of feedstock selection and refinery suitability.

Storage and Transfer Quality Checks

Evaluate samples following storage or transfer when water ingress, sediment accumulation, mixing, or changes in product condition are suspected.

Blending Assessments

Characterize individual components and proposed blends to support blending decisions. Where stability or compatibility is a concern, the testing program should include a specific assessment suited to the blend.

Operational Troubleshooting

Investigate fuel or feedstock characteristics that may contribute to handling difficulties, deposits, inconsistent combustion, or other operating concerns.