a composition and method for improving the removal of corrosive contaminants from crude oil within the desalter in a petroleum refinery . an amine is added to the wash water or to the crude oil prior to processing in the desalter . the amine maximizes the yield of wash water removed from the desalter and substantially improves the removal of acid generating corrosive elements . the addition of the amine upstream of the desalter results in the removal of a significant amount of corrosive chlorides from the crude oil before it is passed through the fractionating unit and other refinery operations . furthermore , the avoidance of adding metals and the assistance in removing other metals from the crude system aids in the reduction or elimination of downstream fouling and petroleum catalyst poisoning .