HM 93: A guide to manual sampling of hydrocarbon liquids

Anyone involved in oil production, transportation, refining, storage or distribution will be aware of the importance of sampling and testing to ensure that crude oil and products meet the required specifications. This guide provides practical advice on sampling of hydrocarbon liquids across a wide range of products and facilities, including bulk transport systems and drums. It should be used in sampling operations, providing tips for those who are more experienced and a training resource for those who are new to the topic.

A number of well-established standards for manual sampling are in use internationally, in particular:

Most test methods will refer to one or other of these and, in order to comply with contractual and other requirements of the operation in hand, these should be followed. This guide is not intended to replace or supersede these key standards or, for that matter any specific instructions or local requirements.

Instead, this guide draws on the decades of experience of experts in the work group and EI committees to give insight into the variables and issues which can affect the sampling operation and which those involved in sampling work need to be aware of. It provides the 'art' which needs to be combined with knowledge of the sampling standards in order to obtain acceptable samples.