Environment & Safety Gas Processing/LNG Maintenance & Reliability Petrochemicals Process Control Process Optimization Project Management Refining

Middle East

Iraq's fuel oil exports soar despite OPEC supply cut

DUBAI (Reuters) -- Iraqi fuel oil exports have soared since January despite a reduction in the country's crude production in line with OPEC supply cuts, industry sources said, in what could be a way to boost output of refined products and maintain oil revenues.

India cuts oil import plans from Iran by a quarter over gas field row

NEW DELHI (Reuters) -- India plans to order about a quarter less Iranian crude oil than it bought last year, people familiar with the matter said, as state refiners cut term purchase deals over a row between New Delhi and Tehran on development of a natural gas field.

Equipment critical analysis: The need for an effective maintenance program

Toyo Engineering Canada Ltd.: Zardynezhad, S.

Oil refineries and large petrochemical plants contain thousands of pieces of process and utilities equipment that are subject to wear, erosion, deterioration, aging, etc., resulting in increasing breakdowns and outages. Imagine being a maintenance engineer and receiving 50 work orders during an overhaul with a limited budget, time, labor, spare parts, tools, machines, etc. How does that engineer prioritize the work?

Root cause analysis on bearing failure on an induced draft fan

Saudi Aramco: Allah, W. K.

This case study aims to provide the root cause analysis behind bearing failure of an induced (ID) fan at a new refinery startup in 2015.

Automation Strategies: Adopting the IIoT: How the industry needs to rethink IT and OT relationships

Stratus Technologies: Fryer, J.

For the connected enterprise, what was once just a futuristic ideal is now becoming a reality. Step by step, organizations are beginning to put together the pieces of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT).

Global Project Data

A global LNG supply glut has put many mega-LNG projects in doubt in 2017. This predicament has many industry experts heralding it as the end of the mega-LNG project era.

Business Trends: Human reliability—a disruptive innovation

Small Hammer Inc.: Snider, B.

Annual bottom-line losses due to equipment failures total more than $100 MM at major refineries and petrochemical complexes. Corporate executives charge plant personnel with improving the reliability of the facility.

Editorial Comment: Maintenance—a value-added expense

Hydrocarbon Processing Staff: Nichols, Lee

This issue of <i>Hydrocarbon Processing</i> tackles one of the most integral aspects of the downstream industry (or any industry, for that matter): maintenance and reliability. These two terms go hand-in-hand and help to ensure efficient and safe operations.

Installation of liquid sulfur degassing processes in existing SRUs

Jacobs Comprimo Sulfur Solutions: Van Grinsven, R.  |  Van Son, M.

Over the last 35 yr, more companies worldwide have installed liquid sulfur degassing processes in their sulfur recovery units (SRUs) to minimize the dangers of the release of hydrogen sulfide from the produced elemental sulfur.

A deeper examination of thermal expansion issues in process equipment and piping

Suncor Energy Inc.: Tharakan, J.

Piping and process equipment that operate at high temperatures experience thermal expansion. If free thermal expansion is restrained, mechanical stresses are created within the component.