An extraction and purification method for the isolation of metalloporphyrins from a heavy crude oil is reported. The metalloporphyrins are extracted from a Boscan crude oil by a Soxhlet extraction method and monitored by UV-Vis and graphite furnace atomic absorption (GFAA) spectroscopies. The first fraction is extracted with methanol and the second one with acetonitrile; both fractions are purified by adsorption chromatography using hexane/benzene and dimethylformamide/benzene mixtures to isolate the metalloporphyrin species according to their polarities. HPLC fractionation and SEC molecular weight distribution techniques are combined to characterize these fractions.