Analytical Methods in Petroleum Upstream Applications

This book crosses the boundary from exploration- and production-related chemistry to refining, from upstream through downstream. It discusses the composition of petroleum through the use of "petroleum molecular composition continuity model." .

Cesar Ovalles is Technical Team Leader at Chevron Energy Technology Company located in Richmond, California. He has a B.Sc. in Chemistry from Simon Bolivar University and Ph.D. in the same field from Texas A&M University. He worked for 16 years at Petróleos de Venezuela Sociedad Anónima-Instituto de Tecnología Venezolano del Petróleo (PDVSA–INTEVEP). In 2006, he joined Chevron to work in R&D in Petroleum Chemistry and characterization of heavy and extra-heavy Crude Oils and their fractions. He is also involved in new methods for analysis of asphaltenes and in R&D in the chemistry of heavy and extra-heavy crude oil upgrading processes.

Carl Rechsteiner is the owner of CRechsteiner Consulting LLC in Petaluma, California, providing petroleum composition and measurement advice to industry. Following a four-year stint with Arthur D. Little Inc., Dr. Rechsteiner joined Chevron Research Company in Richmond, California, where he spent the next 31 years in a number of roles involving numerous measurement technologies for elucidating petroleum compositions. He managed many research and development projects that developed and implemented measurement technologies (especially in the chromatographic and spectroscopic sciences) across Chevron’s Global Downstream laboratory organization, and created an infrastructure to support data-rich process analyzers within Chevron’s operations.