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Middle East

Achieve successful compressor startup by addressing dry-gas seal failure

Toyo Engineering Canada Ltd.: Zardynezhad, S.

A common root cause for compressor failure during first startup is a failure of the dry-gas seal (DGS) system. To avoid failures of gas compressors, the project team and end users must understand the importance and significance of the DGS very early in the basic design phase.

Without reliability, there can be no safety

Oil Industry Safety Directorate: Dutta, H.

Reliability and safety are complimentary concepts. For instance, unless process reliability at a plant is extraordinary, safety cannot be assured. Achieving the highest level of safety at a processing..

HP Editorial Comment: Alternative energy?

Hydrocarbon Processing Staff: Romanow, Stephany

Alternative energy is a point-of-reference term. Natural gas is an alternative energy resource for transportation fuels. As more natural gas resources are developed, natural gas is displacing coal as ..

HP Reliability: Plan now to deal with stressed equipment later

Hydrocarbon Processing Staff: Bloch, Heinz P.

The US Energy Information Administration’s (EIA’s) “Today in Energy” brief evaluated how US refineries are processing record amounts of crude oil (Fig. 1), with Midwest and Gulf Co..

HP Automation Strategies: Control on the wire(less)

ARC Advisory Group: Gupta, M. S.

Since the industrial revolution, process/industrial control had relied on tightly coupled systems to transmit control signals. Industrial plants have used “modern” control via wired electron..

HP Project Management: German refinery successfully modernizes safety system

Heide Refinery-Klesch Group: Romahn, T.
HIMA Paul Hildebrandt GmbH: Cisler, M.

In September 2014, the Heide refinery in Germany used two weeks of planned downtime at its pyrolysis plant to migrate to new safety systems. The new system emphasized high plant/equipment availability..

HP News

Fuel cells to experience a bright future due to natural gasRising natural gas production is facilitating growth for both stationary fuel cells that provide power to business and the utility grid, as w..

HP Industry Metrics

Recent declines in oil pricing and the associated volatility in future pricing has created a difficult forecasting environment. Other factors are causing deviations, especially with regard to the resp..

HP People

The American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) announced that Brendan Williams has been promoted to executive vice president, effective Jan. 1, 2015. Mr. Williams joined AFPM in 2007 as director of government relations and advanced to become senior vice president of advocacy in 2013.

Saudi Aramco, ExxonMobil complete clean fuels project at Yanbu refinery

This refinery will produce ultra-low-sulfur gasoline and diesel and has cut complex emissions dramatically.