Desulfurization of Caribbean Fuel

An American Petroleum Institute study of desulfurization of Caribbean fuel oil was completed in February 1967. The report is unique in that proprietary information was made available to the contractor, the Bechtel Corp., by task force members and licensors of desulfurization processes. Thus confidential information never before available to a single organization was used to develop feasibility and incremental costs of various processes for desulfurization. The report provides needed guideposts for decision-making by governmental units as well as by industry. Incremental costs are presented for intermediate levels of desulfurization from the normal level for Caribbean heavy fuel oil of 2.6% down to 0.5%, as well as the sensitivity of costs to sulfur credits and to rate of recovery of invested capital. Degree of justifiable confidence in the various data is discussed. Effects of desulfurization on other characterisics of the fuel oil are also discussed.