Chevron U.s.a. Inc.

Manuel Eduardo Quintana

Dennis John O'Rear

Russell Evan Cooper

Sujin Yean

Stephen Roby

Jerry Max Rovner

Hosna Mogaddedi

Trace amount levels of heavy metals such as mercury in crude oil are reduced by contacting the crude oil with a sufficient amount of a reducing agent to convert at least a portion of the non-volatile mercury into a volatile form of mercury, which can be subsequently removed by any of stripping, scrubbing, adsorption, and combinations thereof. In one embodiment, at least 50% of the mercury is removed. In another embodiment, the removal rate is at least 99%. In one embodiment, the reducing agent is selected from sulfur compounds containing at least one sulfur atom having an oxidation state less than +6; ferrous compounds; stannous compounds; oxalates; cuprous compounds; organic acids which decompose to form COand/or Hupon heating; hydroxylamine compounds; hydrazine compounds; sodium borohydride; diisobutylaluminium hydride; thiourea; transition metal halides; and mixtures thereof.

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Sugar Land, TX, United States of America

Manuel Eduardo Quintana