Maintenance & Reliability
Australia's Ampol ends Lytton refinery repairs, provides output forecast
Australia's top fuel retailer Ampol said on Friday it had completed repairs at its fluidized catalytic cracking unit (FCCU) at the Lytton refinery in Queensland, and now expects total production for 2024 to be 5.2 B liters (l).
Russian oil refinery runs in Nov. up 6% m/m
Russian refinery oil processing volumes in November are up by 6% versus October to 22.1 MM tonnes (5.4 MMbpd).
Reduce costs by following grab sampling best practices
Accurate grab sampling practices are necessary to validate the quality of chemical products with precise compositions. Operators must follow proper procedures to avoid compromising the sample. Otherwise, the result may be an inaccurate analysis of their product, leading to quality lapses and potentially costing a facility thousands of dollars in revenue.
Improving ammonia production sustainability
While approximately 70% of ammonia production is used to make fertilizers, it is also identified as the largest carbon dioxide (CO2)-emitting chemical industry process. This article examines several novel technologies to improve the sustainability of the ammonia production process.
Safe design and operation of burn pit flare systems
This article will mainly focus on horizontal flare systems and grade-level burn pits. Design considerations, operational challenges and several lessons learned will be discussed.
SMR feed effluent hairpin exchanger: Once upon a time—An unusual thermal mix-point failure—Part 2
This article presents a review of a failure that happened in a hairpin heat exchanger type on the shell side in a H2 (H2) reformer unit.
Use advanced thermal insulative coatings to improve safety, maintain access and protect against corrosion
Throughout refineries, petrochemical plants and offshore oil and gas platforms, personnel are often required to work near equipment that operates at high temperatures. Protecting those workers from skin-contact burns has typically involved two approaches: implementing physical barriers and covering the hot assets with insulation and cladding. This article details how thermal insulative coatings can be used to improve safety and guard against corrosion.
Russian Urals oil sales to Turkey in Nov. up 38% m/m as STAR refinery increases runs
Russian Urals oil supplies to Turkey's ports in November increased to 9.9 MMbbl from 7.4 MMbbl in October as its main consumer was back from outage.
NNPC's Port Harcourt resumes output in boost to Nigeria oil refining
Nigeria's Port Harcourt refinery has resumed production, marking the first of state-owned oil firm NNPC Ltd.'s four plants to return from upgrade work announced in 2020.
Russia's Lukoil restoring cracker at NORSI refinery, gasoline output rising
Russia's second-largest oil producer Lukoil is restoring operations of its catalytic cracker complex, ramping up gasoline output after the unit's breakdown on Nov. 13.
- INEOS Enterprises to sell Composites business to KPS Capital Partners for €1.7 B 12/3
- Small volumes of renewable diesel are now consumed on the U.S. East Coast 12/3
- Hapag-Lloyd concludes long-term offtake agreement for green methanol 12/2
- BASF unveils new HDPE brand Easiplas and HDPE construction milestones at Zhanjiang Verbund site 12/2
- Russia's Rosneft may delay refinery modernization due to high interest rates, taxes 12/2
- Solarig to develop €1.15-B, 75,000-tpy Turboleta SAF in Spain 12/2
