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

Asia/Pacific

China's crude oil imports ease from record, fuel exports fall

BEIJING (Reuters) -- China's crude oil imports eased in April from March's record high as refiners processed less oil during a heavy maintenance season, while exports of refined fuel fell by a quarter from a month earlier due to quota reductions.

Honeywell UOP installs China's largest propane dehydrogenation unit

DES PLAINES, Ill. -- Honeywell announced the commissioning and operation of the largest operating single-train propane dehydrogenation unit in China.

CNPC loads first crude oil into Myanmar-China pipeline

BEIJING (Reuters) -- China's state-owned refiner China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) said it has loaded the first crude oil through its Myanmar-to-China pipeline, the latest step towards supplying crude to its new refinery in Yunnan province.

Alfa Laval to supply heat exchangers to China refinery

LUND, Sweden -- Alfa Laval has won an order to supply compact heat exchangers to a refinery in China. The order has a value of approximately SEK 210 MM. It is booked in the Welded Heat Exchangers unit of the Energy Division, with deliveries scheduled for 2018.

India cuts oil import plans from Iran by a quarter over gas field row

NEW DELHI (Reuters) -- India plans to order about a quarter less Iranian crude oil than it bought last year, people familiar with the matter said, as state refiners cut term purchase deals over a row between New Delhi and Tehran on development of a natural gas field.

Equipment critical analysis: The need for an effective maintenance program

Toyo Engineering Canada Ltd.: Zardynezhad, S.

Oil refineries and large petrochemical plants contain thousands of pieces of process and utilities equipment that are subject to wear, erosion, deterioration, aging, etc., resulting in increasing breakdowns and outages. Imagine being a maintenance engineer and receiving 50 work orders during an overhaul with a limited budget, time, labor, spare parts, tools, machines, etc. How does that engineer prioritize the work?

Automation Strategies: Adopting the IIoT: How the industry needs to rethink IT and OT relationships

Stratus Technologies: Fryer, J.

For the connected enterprise, what was once just a futuristic ideal is now becoming a reality. Step by step, organizations are beginning to put together the pieces of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT).

Global Project Data

A global LNG supply glut has put many mega-LNG projects in doubt in 2017. This predicament has many industry experts heralding it as the end of the mega-LNG project era.

Business Trends: Human reliability—a disruptive innovation

Small Hammer Inc.: Snider, B.

Annual bottom-line losses due to equipment failures total more than $100 MM at major refineries and petrochemical complexes. Corporate executives charge plant personnel with improving the reliability of the facility.

Editorial Comment: Maintenance—a value-added expense

Hydrocarbon Processing Staff: Nichols, Lee

This issue of <i>Hydrocarbon Processing</i> tackles one of the most integral aspects of the downstream industry (or any industry, for that matter): maintenance and reliability. These two terms go hand-in-hand and help to ensure efficient and safe operations.