Americas
Environmentalists warn of hazards in extracting gas from methane hydrate
The trillions of cubic feet of methane hydrates contained in the ocean's floor are in geologically unstable areas. The fear: One wrong move and an undersea landslide could send massive amounts of a particularly potent greenhouse gas to the ocean's surface and into the atmosphere.
Optimize your compressor maintenance program
One deviation alone might not be enough to bring on a compressor failure, but, when several more deviations combine, the failure risk is known to increase exponentially.
Case history: Failure analysis of a syngas compressor
A first-stage impeller in a synthetic gas compressor failed after 20 years of service. The compressor is a six-stage centrifugal compressor driven by a steam turbine. This case history discusses the i..
Improve pressure drop calculations for saturated water lines
When saturated water flows through pipes and components, it flashes—thus increasing its specific volume and limiting the fluid flowrate. Due to these conditions, the calculation and design for pi..
HP Reliability: Four-stage, low-flow process centrifugal compressor can fill important industry gaps
In the 1970s and 1980s, multistage centrifugal compressors in the 3,000 acfm (about 5,000m3/hr) and lower flow ranges were largely confined to instrument and plant air duties. Three stages with interc..
HP Integration Strategies: Consider procedural automation at a commercial-scale pilot plant
“All processes are batch processes to some degree. Even in ‘continuous’ process plants, processing units will need to be shut down at some point and then restarted to resume production...
HP Boxscore Construction Analysis: Outlook for major revamp projects—Part 2
Worldwide, refiners are investing billions in upgrading and modernizing projects. These efforts are focused on:Increasing flexibility to process heavier, sourer crudesImproving energy efficiencyMeetin..
HP Engineering Case Histories: Case 74: How to determine impact forces when troubleshooting
When troubleshooting failures, it is not unusual for the metallurgical report to indicate that the failure was the result of an impact type of force. The investigator who receives this information mus..
HP Industry Perspectives: US oil and gas executives energized for the year ahead
A recent survey of US executives by the KPMG Global Energy Institute supports growing optimism in the domestic energy and manufacturing industries. Much of the renewed enthusiasm is strongly linked to..
HP Impact: Dilbit poses no extra pipeline risk
Diluted bitumen (dilbit) has no greater likelihood of accidental pipeline release than other crude oils, says a new report from the National Research Council. The report found that diluted bitumen has..
- Shell, CNOOC take FID on 1.6-MMtpy petrochemical complex expansion in China 1/15
- Russian oil products trapped at sea by U.S. sanctions 1/15
- California (U.S.) withdraws clean truck EPA waiver request ahead of Trump inauguration 1/15
- Amazon orders 200 new electric heavy trucks from Daimler for Germany, UK 1/15
- Colonial Pipeline shuts main gasoline artery after potential gasoline spill 1/15
- U.S. issues partial guidance on clean fuel subsidies, chafing ethanol makers 1/15
