Construction
Industry Perspectives: Will capital investments increase in 2021 and beyond?
Over the past several years, the world witnessed a significant increase in downstream capacity growth in all sectors of the hydrocarbon processing industry (HPI). However, the COVID-19 pandemic caused a significant decline in demand for transportation fuels and certain petrochemical value chains.
Editorial Comment: Maintenance and reliability—A cornerstone of safe and efficient plant operation
Refineries and petrochemical plants are comprised of a series of crucial processes to produce transportation fuels, products and chemicals demanded by the global market. These processes consist of capital-intensive units that must be maintained to provide reliable performance. Failure to adequately maintain these assets can have a detrimental effect to not only operations and profit, but also to worker safety.
Editorial Comment
Over the past several decades, the hydrocarbon processing industry has invested heavily in new processing units to produce low-sulfur and ultra-low-sulfur (ULS) transportation fuels.
Global Project Data
According to Gulf Energy Information’s Global Energy Infrastructure database, new capital project investments have increased each month since November 2020.
Design considerations when flaring ethylene oxide
The flaring of gases released from normal process vents and safety valve discharges following an overpressure scenario is widely practiced in refineries, petrochemical and chemical plants.
Challenges and pitfalls in brownfield EPC projects
Job requirements and scope are well defined in engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts because they are designed and engineered from scratch.
Leveraging digital technologies to create the smart renewable diesel facility
Many companies are modifying existing crude refineries or building grassroots renewable diesel facilities to produce drop-in, green renewable diesel from a variety of agriculturally derived triglyceride feedstocks.
Reducing acid consumption: Maximizing sulfuric acid alkylation unit profitability
Alkylation is a process used to produce highly branched isoparaffins from the reaction of lighter olefins and isobutane in the presence of sulfuric acid as a catalyst.
Converting a petroleum diesel refinery for renewable diesel
As refiners consider renewable, low-carbon alternatives, renewable diesel—refined from agricultural products using petroleum refinery processes—is gaining traction.
Global Project Data
After a tumultuous year, many active capital projects have been deferred, delayed or even abandoned.
- ExxonMobil plans 1 Blbs/yr of advanced recycling by 2027 11/22
- Gauging the likely Trump effect on U.S. energy and power sectors 11/22
- Russia's Lukoil restoring cracker at NORSI refinery, gasoline output rising 11/22
- Nigeria's local currency crude sales fall short of target, Dangote refinery says 11/22
- U.S. October gasoline imports hit post-pandemic low on slump in European shipments 11/22
- Clean Hydrogen Works awards McDermott FEED contract for Ascension Clean Energy (ACE) project 11/21
