Environment & Safety
Consider post-design changes to confine a hazardous area
Hazardous area classification (HAC) is carried out while performing basic design engineering, and HAC drawings are produced as one of the deliverables.
Understand the sources of oil pollution in water
Oil in water is one of the most common types of water pollution.
Marathon's Galveston Bay refinery partially evacuated after butane leak
Marathon Petroleum Corp. evacuated workers from a portion of its Galveston Bay refinery in Texas City, Texas due to a butane leak, but no injuries were reported.
Innovations
Unintended fugitive emissions from pressurized plant components have long been a key concern for operators as well as regulators.
How small deviations and lack of management access compromise reliability
In 2013, Refinery “X” was experiencing serious pump distress—the third or fourth in a 12-month period. We received calls about the latest thrust bearing failure event on this important 3,560-rpm process pump. Soon after, a surprisingly similar incident happened at Refinery “Y” in 2015. Both incidents are considered here.
US gov't withdraws $40-MM windpower grant
Dominion Virginia Power is assessing options for its proposed offshore wind demonstration project in light of an announcement today that the US DOE is withdrawing $40 MM in funding.
Daimler Mercedes-Benz's cleaner technology in European diesel, gasoline engines
Daimler said it will spend €3 B ($3.35 B) to curtail diesel exhaust pollution levels by modifying its engines and exhaust treatment systems.
Exxon shareholder vote could see climate activist join board
Voters at ExxonMobil Corp.'s annual meeting on Wednesday approved a measure to let minority shareholders nominate outsiders for seats on the board, meaning a climate activist could eventually become a director at the world's largest publicly traded oil company.
Shell CEO warns on hasty renewables shift
Major investors, including Dutch pension fund PGGM, have criticized Shell's climate change policy in recent months, saying it should do more to mitigate climate change risks.
EPA’s biofuel plan frustrates US refiners, farmers
The increase did not go far enough for the farm lobby and biofuels companies like Poet LLC, which have spent millions to produce advanced biofuels. Meanwhile, oil industry advocates, who have criticized previous targets as unrealistic, renewed calls for an overhaul of the program.
- Valero Energy Q4 profit beats estimates; shares surge 1/30
- Dow launches "Transform to Outperform" to raise the competitive industry benchmark for productivity and growth to enable improved returns 1/30
- Russian oil refineries' peak maintenance expected in January and September 1/30
- U.S. lifts some Venezuela sanctions to ease oil sales 1/30
- Keppel, Aster plan sustainable aviation fuel project in Singapore 1/30
- Boeing, Israel's Technion to develop sustainable aviation fuel, as sector grapples with 2050 goal 1/30
