Economics
Improve refinery production and efficiency with asset monitoring
The sheer volume of equipment in a refinery—from vessels, columns, huge structures and mazes of pipes to pumps, valves, controllers and instruments—is staggering.
Global Project Data
According to <i>Hydrocarbon Processing</i>’s Construction Boxscore Database, more than 320 new projects have been announced in the downstream processing industry over the past year.
Viewpoint: Reducing the sulfur shadow— Who pays the price?
The International Maritime Organization’s (IMO’s) 2020 regulation has been described as the most disruptive change to impact the oil industry in the past 30 yr.
Risk: Measuring margins—Avoiding complacency when the market is stable
When top oil marketer Geneva Energy Markets LLC liquidated its trading book holding<sup>1</sup> “millions of barrels of open interest across crude oil, refined products and natural gas,” managing partner Mark Vonderheide emphasized the pressures and potential damage of new market regulations.
The road to successful plant modernization
Any personnel working in a refinery or heavy petrochemical plant with “vintage” automation equipment are painfully aware of the effects a distributed control system (DCS) from the 1990s, 1980s or even earlier can have on operations.
Amine pumps upgraded for improved operations and reliability
A gas processing plant in Malaysia eliminated a source of expensive failures in its acid gas removal unit (AGRU).
Industry Metrics
US margins recorded losses as crack spreads declined for all products except fuel oil, despite lower refinery crude intakes.
Refining: Chinese refining industry eyes production cuts, consolidation
The Chinese refining industry is on the verge of massive production cuts and consolidation. A new tax rule aimed at curbing alleged tax evasion by independents and the end of an era of liberalization in the industry are driving the downsizing.
Hydrocarbon Processing Awards
<i>Hydrocarbon Processing,</i> the downstream processing sector’s leading technical publication, has announced the winners for its second annual awards.
Technical considerations for the Heydar Aliyev refinery revamp
The following case study describes the early development phases of SOCAR’s ongoing major revamp project at the Heydar Aliyev Refinery (HAR) in Baku, Azerbaijan, and its interface with the associated Azerikimya (AZK) steam cracking complex near Sumgait. References are made to the related SOCAR polymer project in Sumgayit, as well.
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