Environment & Safety Gas Processing/LNG Maintenance & Reliability Petrochemicals Process Control Process Optimization Project Management Refining

January 2016

Archive

Special Report: LNG, NGL and Alternative Feedstocks

Fueling Alberta oil sands fleets with natural gas
Hatch Ltd.: Salehi, E.  |  Save, S.  |  Almquist, G.  |  Zuliani, C.

Natural gas for diesel replacement is an excellent opportunity for mineable oil sands operations to realize considerable fuel savings.

Use discrete event simulation as decision support for storage and shipping—Part 1

Over the past decades, one engineering firm has been using discrete event simulation (DES) to study shipping and storage as an integral part of project execution throughout all phases of a process facility’s design, construction and operations.

Outlook: Industry Leaders’ Viewpoints

2016 Industry Leaders’ Viewpoints—Part 1
Hydrocarbon Processing Staff: Nichols, Lee

To kick off the new year, industry leaders and esteemed colleagues shared their viewpoints on 2016 and beyond with Hydrocarbon Processing.

Environment and Safety

Improve facility safety by understanding process and personal safety
Fluor: Luna, V. B.

The lack of knowledge and understanding about process safety is still apparent in many industries where hazardous materials are processed and handled.

Heat Transfer

Control fouling on preheat trains with a two-stage approach

Fouling in heat exchanger preheat trains is a well-known problem in the refining industry.

Process Engineering and Optimization

Solve online analyzer time delays by improving sampling system design
SCG Chemicals: Suriye, K.  |  Tanthapanichakoon, W.

Process design engineers may occasionally become involved in the design of online analyzers and their associated sampling systems.

Columns

Editorial Comment: 2015—Looking back and looking beyond
Hydrocarbon Processing Staff: Nichols, Lee

As we transition into 2016, we leave behind a year that saw dramatic changes in both the upstream and downstream industries.

Reliability: Interpreting API Standard 618 for reciprocating compressors
Hydrocarbon Processing Staff: Bloch, Heinz P.

A rotating machinery engineer working for an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor in India is often involved in selecting reciprocating compressors for hydrocarbon processing plants.

Engineering Case Histories: Case 88: Normal operating loads do not usually cause failures
Consulting Engineer: Sofronas, A.

Equipment of all types are designed for normal operating conditions, usually with some margin for unknowns.

Viewpoint: A four-step approach to ensure pipeline integrity
Bureau Veritas North America: Vieira, R.

North America’s vast oil and gas pipeline network spans more than 2.6 MM mi in the US alone, delivering fossil fuel feedstocks to refineries, gas processors and petrochemical manufacturers, and finished fuels to end users.

Industry Perspectives: Is 2016 the year when crude oil bounces back?
Hydrocarbon Processing Staff: DuBose, Ben

With both West Texas Intermediate (WTI) and Brent crude oil prices tumbling almost 50% from 2014 to 2015 due to a global supply glut, this past year was one of great uncertainty in the downstream sector.

Business Trends: Special report--Global LNG overview
Hydrocarbon Processing Staff: Nichols, Lee

Liquified natural gas is forecast to become one of the most valuable commodities in the world.

Industry Metrics
Hydrocarbon Processing Staff: Rhodes, Mike

Asian margins showed a strong recovery due to higher winter heating fuel demand, supporting middle distillate crack spreads.

Global Project Data
Hydrocarbon Processing Staff: Nichols, Lee

According to <i>Hydrocarbon Processing's</i> Construction Boxscore Database, new project announcements averaged approximately 25 per month in 2015.

Innovations
Hydrocarbon Processing Staff: Blume, Adrienne

Pepperl+Fuchs’ VisuNet RM Shell 4.0 remote monitor firmware for industrial thin client work stations offers significant enhancements through an optimized touchscreen user interface, advanced security features, Windows Embedded Standard 7 and plug-and-play startup capabilities.

People
Hydrocarbon Processing Staff: Rhodes, Mike

The Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) Aberdeen Section board has elected Ian Phillips, chief executive of the Oil and Gas Innovation Centre (OGIC), as its new chairman.